For the man who has everything
by Mariavc
Summary: Tony and Pepper face the aftermath of the Extremis events. He struggles to find a cure while trying not to loose the love of his life in the process . Set after Iron Man 3, but going back to remember important moments in their relationship related to Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and The Avengers. Full of romance, drama, humor and action.
1. Chapter 1: The Extremis effect

**I don't own any of the amazing Marvel characters.**

**Rated M for possible adult situations and some bad words. We try to keep classy, but realistic ;)**

**A/N: Hi, this is my first fic, well... my first one here. I really love this couple. I hope you enjoy this and please review! we start in the present, and then go back to the night when they battled Killian and everything that led Tony and Pepper to our first scene. The narrative will be a little dynamic, so I hope you like it. Again, I would love to read your reviews :)**

**A/N2: My English is a little rusty!**

**Chapter 1: The extremis effect.**

"Would you try and stop it for a second, I'm _trying_ to…"

"Oh, please Tony, you can't take this seriously I…

"…Figure this thing out, but you only yell and keep…

"IT'S ONLY FOR YOUR SAFETY, you idiot"

"Oh my God, just stop!, PLEASE STOP" she stopped talking "Pep, please, we're fighting again" He said with a lower voice.

She calmed down for a little; they both were in silence for a few seconds. They were in Tony's lab at Stark Tower, trying to find a cure for her everyday. It had been a week since the whole incident, and Tony was afraid he wasn't getting results with his experiments, but he was close.

"We were just arguing our different points of…"

"Honey"

"Ok, I'm sorry, but most of all because I heard myself and sounded as stubborn as you... you're contagious you know" She smiled and looked at Tony, who was getting close to grab her hand and kiss it.

"I'm going to fix you Pep" He caressed her cheek "I swear to God that I'm going to do it, but you can't be like this, it's not fair; always afraid to touch me, to be in the same room. Those assholes could control it, I bet you can do that too, at least while I find the cure"

"I've tried Tony, so hard" He hugged her close, she leaned in but then tried to push him "No, please"

"Baby, it's ok" He held her tighter "You don't have to be afraid of it, maybe that's the problem, and maybe you can't control it because you fear it"

"Oh my God, when did you start to be the stable one in this relationship?" She half giggled half sobbed against his chest.

"Well, you became the hot one, so…oucchh" She punched him softly, but still with extremis powers.

"That is not funny"

"Sir, Director Fury is in the lobby and wants to see you" interrupted Jarvis

"I'll be there in a sec J" He sighed, and pepper touched his arm

"What does _he_ want?"

"_I_"

"You what?"

"I need to talk to him about Iron Man, let's say he got a message and is probably freaking out" He kissed her in the forehead and left the lab smiling at her while she leaned back in the chair.

* * *

She was desperate. After a whole week she was feeling like the time had stopped. She felt trap, in addition to the fact that she didn't have much work to do, as New Year celebration was closer. In other conditions she would have not be mad with that week with the love of his life, but she was too afraid to be close to him. The first night they couldn't get any sleep. Rhodey got back with the coast guard when Tony figured that maybe destroying the suits before getting out of there wasn't his most brilliant moment.

They were sitting in the platform, as far as they could from the destruction, with their legs in the air, just looking at the dark ocean reflecting orange tones from the fire. He was holding her hand as she rested her head in his shoulder.

"You don't fly with those super powers, _do you_?"

"I don't think so, but I don't want to find out either." She lifted her head and looked at him "That surely is the most romantic question a guy can ask to his girlfriend" He smiled

"I'm sorry, I just want to get out of here as soon as possible, this is not the best place to have a date you know, with all the… dead… people… and what if somebody is still ali…"

She shushed him with a quick kiss, then looked at him

"Then you have your girl to protect your Iron ass" He opened his eyes in surprise and his jaw dropped. "Who is the damsel in distress now?" she added

"You play rough now? Because I like it" He leaned closer "How is that your clothes didn't burn?"

"Stop it right there, Stark" She put her hands on his chest, but he insisted with his trademark smirk. He suddenly had a dark look in his eyes and wasn't thinking straight, just wanted to kiss her, hard, and so he did. He grabbed her by her wrists and pushed his lips against her mouth, immediately trying to push it open. Everything else disappeared, he was just feeling her close to him, and listening what he thought it was a far voice, but he didn't care, not until he felt a very strong shove that violently separated them. He was shocked when his mind got back to reality and the sounds around him were clear again, she was upset, and yelling at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I…I'm sorry, wha..what?"

"I was telling you to stop, what is wrong with you? You were acting all weird and… don't you see where we are? Do you think this is romantic?

"whoa…." He shook his head, feeling confused "I don't now what have just happened… I…couldn't… this is weird"

"Indeed. Calm yourself down, ok? Not the right place and not the right time" He looked down and then felt her hand on the back of his neck, He turned to her again "You know I love you, right? It's just… We don't know if I can hurt you" She grabbed his hand, feeling guilty, she had never rejected him, not only because he could break her hearth with that sad look he could pull, but because she had never wanted to. And this hadn't been an exception. "And it's worst if you want to make me loose control like that, you know you can" She smiled.

"Won't happen again" He smiled too" At least not for the next few hours, but you could use another outfit, you know, like… something with a turtleneck" They both laughed and looked at each other until they heard the sound of the guard's ship close to them. In no time they were with Rhodey, still in the Iron Patriot suit, heading to wherever they were going to spend the night.

"You did what?! Are you nuts man?"

"I wanted to do it, I just felt like that was the right time… our last dance, then boom my boys"

Pepper looked at him. He looked convinced; it obviously felt right for now. But then what? She had to accept that being Iron Man wasn't another of his eccentricities, she was also so proud of him; He had saved millions of people with his own hands, fighting, like a true hero, but he also was risking his life every time, and as selfish as it sounded she couldn't take it of something happened to him. She wondered what did Tony felt when she was falling to her death.

"I will figure it out later, I mean, I still need to talk to Fury, He is going to loose his shit when…"

"Bad words, honey"

"Sorry baby" Rhodey laughed out loud

"You two are really something. I'm so happy you are fine Pepper, this guy would have died if something happened to you"

"It felt like I did, a million times" He hugged her close, they were dressed in sweat pants and t-shirts courtesy of the coast guard which looked very big on her; Tony though that was the cutest thing he had seen in his life; he had seen her before with clothes to big for her, HIS clothes, but now he was overwhelmed by the memory of seeing her die, and then feeling her in his arms, alive. He took a deep breath on her hair and closed his eyes, then he felt it again, the same crazy sensation he felt before, when he kissed her on the platform. He opened his eyes and recovered control of himself.

"I guess there was something good about the whole extremis thing then" She said, caressing Tony's cheek as a response to his embrace. "But I still want to get rid of it as soon as possible, and please, I don't want anyone to know about it"

"You don't even have to mention it, but you will have to go through some stuff, for starters, the president wants a word with us"


	2. Chapter 2: The first night

**Chapter 2: The first night.**

They were finally at Pepper's place, the sun was about to rise and they were tired. The president had been charming, and grateful, but then the FBI was a big pain in the ass. They had to wait until some Agent Wagner from SHIELD finally appeared to get them out. Tony really missed Coulson more than ever; this agent was so severe and not interested in talking on their way to Pepper's apartment. He barely could ask for his friends. Natasha and Steve were sent to Washington, and Clint was in Spain on a mission, a "classified" one.

"Have I been here?" Tony asked as they walked in.

"Of course you have. Sometimes drunk, and sometimes unauthorized" They were walking straight to her room.

"_Please_ sweetie, what's yours is mine"

When they were in her bedroom she turned.

"Do you think this is safe?"

"Well, still on the pill?"

"Tony, I'm serious" she sighed in frustration, part with him, part with their situation "I don't want to hurt you" she softly touched his arm.

"Well, do you feel like bursting into flames?"

"I don't know, I don't think so"

"Then stop thinking, we need to get some sleep" He kissed her forehead and went to the bed to rapidly take off his shoes. She did the same; they were now wearing SHIELD hoodies after they let them take a shower an attended Tony's injuries.

He, surprisingly, was asleep almost as soon as he touched the bed. Pepper was still a little afraid, and finally catching up with everything they had been through. Maybe He had fought aliens and shared some beers with a super soldier after defeating a god, with the help of another god, but she was scared. She looked at her hands, everything looked normal, but now she had…what? Super powers? Was she dangerous? She killed a man with her bare hands; yes, he was an evil murderous monster, but was she any different? She pressed a button that made Obadiah Stane die, and now she launched a missile and made Killian blow. She saved Tony's life; maybe it was worth it after all.

Then, everything went to hell again, it was so fast, so painful. She heard him scream her name and then felt pushed away. When she finally woke up saw fire, the bed was on fire around her.

"TONYYYYYY" she screamed, crying, he wasn't there.

"Get out of there!" He was back with a fire extinguisher and discharged it rapidly, putting off the fire while she sat on the floor, embracing her own legs with almost all her clothes burn, except for the top and pants she kept from AIM "It's ok Pep, it's…" he killed the last flames from the – now black – bed. He rushed to her side and took her face in his hands; she was crying, "Are you alright? Honey, answer me, please."

She sobbed and then looked at his left wrist, it had a red burn in the shape of a hand, her hand, she cried again "I hurt you" she managed to say while he hugged her with all his strength, she didn't fight, she needed him. They were on the floor for a few minutes. She spoke again.

"I was having a nightmare"

"Wanna talk about it?" They were still in the same position; he was rubbing her back wanting to calm her.

"There was a fight…" she looked at him, her eyes were red "And you… I…" she looked at his wrist again and caressed it "I hurt you Tony, I need to look for some alcohol and bandages"

"Pepper, wait"

She ignored him and went out of the room.

Minutes later they were dealing with the firemen… and her neighbors. Fortunately, they managed to distract everybody just with Tony's presence without much questions about the cause of the fire. He took pictures and signed stuff until everybody was gone.

"Do you want something for breakfast?" It was early in the morning by now

"Already? Pep, we need to rest"

"Oh, yeah… in which bed?" He didn't answer "And I need to go to the office anyway"

"What? I really don't think that's a good idea"

"Why? Do you think I will start killing people or what?"

He walked next to her, they were in her living room "Noo, honey, please" He sighed, "Ok, you go, but I'll go with you. I need a lab so I can run some tests on you. There's something weird with you"

"No way! What could it be?"

"Ha-ha…it's not just that, when I touch you I feel… _stuff_"

"Stuff?" She smiled "Maybe you're in love Mr. Stark" He smiled too

"Indeed I am Miss Potts, but there's something else and I want to know what it is. And, let me add, it's beautiful to see you smile like that again, everything is gonna be fine" he hugged her and, after a few seconds pulled her away, feeling dizzy "wow"

"The stuff?"

"Yeah" she gave him a little peck

"Go get a shower, I will arrange to have a lab just for us"

They were finishing their breakfast when a driver from Stark Industries arrived.

"We need to go," she said

"Are you sure about that?

"Yeah, I feel fine… and I'm going to be with you, I'll just check something about the Latin American acquisition and then spend the day in the lab. For the rest, I think it's better to work from home after New Year, just attending meetings once in a while and, of course, every time the board requires it I'll be there"

"Seems like a plan" he kissed her softly

They were silent in the car. She looked busy with her phone and checking some documents. It was like anything happened, like she didn't burn their bed and grabbed his wrist hard enough to make him punch her hand several times with all his strength. She didn't even notice, she was glowing in orange and suddenly the mattress caught on fire, he barely jumped and ran to get a fire extinguisher.

"Pepper… your nightmare, what was it about?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she said trying to focus on her work, until he put his hand on her chin, making her turn to him.

"Pep, you can tell me"

"Tony I don't remember it quite well I… " She lowered her voice "I think I was fighting you and I… " She looked terrified and couldn't look him in the eyes "I think I killed you… it was horrible" He took her in his arms and close to him.

"It's ok, we won't talk about that, let's forget it, ok?"

"I'll try. Hey, what about you?" she looked up from his chest "were you getting any sleep last night?"

"I guess, maybe I'm cured… If I could, you can, you are a lot stronger than me"

"Says the super hero?"

"Haven't you heard that there's always a great woman behind a great man? Now imagine the kind of woman behind a handsome, amazing, genius, brave, ruthless and invincible super hero."

"You forgot humble"

They both laughed and she hugged him back, putting her cheek against his warm arc reactor and even warmer chest, they had been together for a little more than two years and she had never been so happy, she knew she loved him since Afghanistan, when Rhodey called her with the worst news she felt how her heart broke and then stopped. She was paralyzed for hours in his living room in Malibu; she knew he was alive, and swore to never give up; she wouldn't let anyone declare him dead, not even Obadiah, all because she loved him.

* * *

**A/N: Well, the second chapter, I'm too excited to publish this. The third one will be about some moment in Tony and Pepper's past, it's going to be great, I hope you post your opinions :)**


	3. Chapter 3: The Pre-Stark Part 1

**A/N: Hi! I'm so happy to read some reviews, I also did this because I didn't see any other fic about the moment just after the end of IM3. This time,ironically, we go back in time to see a little of Tony in the cave and something more. We'll go back to our story after this, hope you like it!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Pre-Stark Part 1**

Of course, Tony needed the shock of being in captivity and tortured for starting to think about every stupid thing he had done in his life, and to her.

"So you are a man who has everything, and nothing"

Yinsen said that to Tony, and in that moment it sounded very accurate, whas he ok with that? But what if it wasn't entirely true? The physicist was honest, he didn't care about his connections or millions, and they were equals. He saved his life, he did the best he could to make him feel better, and had faith in him, that felt good; but it wasn't the first time he felt like that in his life.

That night he went to bed with just one thought in his mind: Pepper. She was his best friend, he never told her that, but maybe she knew it. Pepper had seen the worst, his problem with alcohol, girls, drugs, his lack of morals and irresponsibility with his company, but she never left his side, even in his worst days.

When he started with cocaine she had been working with him for almost 4 years, they weren't as close, she had never spent a night in his house and was still very cautious with his flirting. But that night, when he called her, she felt there was something really wrong with her boss, she knew it was the anniversary of his parents's death, he was supposed to be at some party, as usual. But then he was crying in the phone. Pepper got dressed and called Happy; she was worried, but didn't want to be alone with him in his house.

"What do you want?"

"You called me Mr. Stark," He laughed; he was on the floor, with his back against the couch.

"Oh yeah, I did. You can go now"

"Sorry boss, are you ok?"

"Are you hurt? Is that blood?" She added to Happy's question.

"There was this… slut" he laughed again and touched his lip. "I don't know what happened," He continued laughing while trying to stand up, but fell hitting his head on the coffee table. Pepper and Happy ran to him.

"Oh my God, Tony" she rarely call him by his name. They helped him to sit on the couch. They could see the remains of some white powder on the table.

"You now, I feel great, I want to be alone, just go"

"Do you want something to eat?" Said Happy. Both Pepper and Tony turned to him.

"I don't fucking want something to eat, just go before I fire you both"

"I don't think…"

"JUST GO!" He interrupted her, stood up and ran down to the workshop.

"Miss Potts, I think we should go"

"He could get hurt"

"I mean, He knows what he does, this is not the first time"

"Well, then it has to stop… I'll go"

"And what if he hurts you?"

"He won't" She went to the workshop, the door was open "Mr. stark?" it was dark and silent, Pepper walked until she heard a voice behind her.

"What are you doing here?" She turned; he was standing with a serious look on his face.

"I'm sorry, but I need to make sure you are ok, I suggest some rest and fluids… maybe you should…"

"I DON'T NEED YOU TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" As he yelled she stepped back, but he got closer until she was trapped between him and his desk.

"I TELL YOU WHAT TO DO, YOU FUCKING GO AND LEAVE ME ALONE" He punched the desk.

"Tony stop! I know you are better than this!"

"You sound just like him, but I know better" He grabbed her arms with all his strength, it hurt "There's nothing I can do to please you, all of you"

"Tony, just let me go! We can still help you," she cried a little

"I DON'T WANT YOU TO HELP ME!" He threw her towards de desk, she hit the metal and lost her balance, the monitors, documents, tools and everything else on the desk hit the floor along with her.

"Oh my God, Pepper, I'm so sorry" He rushed to her and tried to grab her hand, but she pulled it back "Did I hurt you?"

"You did" She looked at him with blurred eyes, he knew what she meant.

"Please don't go" He said with a sad whisper looking to the floor, unable to face her, but felt a gentle touch on his face, he leaned in and landed on her arms, crying. Happy appeared on the door, worried, but she told him to go with a gesture. Happy nodded and disappeared again.

She hugged her boss, which was so inappropriate, but felt just right.

"Come on, you need to get some sleep" She said when he calmed down

"Would you stay?"

"Mr. Stark, I…" She was back to business

"You are my friend you know, though you probably don't consider me your friend"

Pepper smiled sadly and helped him stand up, she took his hand and they went to his bedroom in silence.

"I won't go, but you have to promise you will sleep, we can talk tomorrow"

"Do you need something?"

"I'm ok" she kissed his cheek and then regretted it.

She went to one of the guest rooms and tried to close her eyes. He was sad about his boss. Yes, Colonel Rhodes was his friend, but he was always on duty… and then there was Obadiah, there was something just creepy about him. Anyway, Tony was lonely, and that broke her heart, more than what she should admit.

Next morning she woke up early and went to Tony's room. He was awake.

"So, you stayed"

"I want to apologize if I did something inappropriate last night, Mr. Stark, I was worried"

"Apologize?" He sat "Potts, I know what I did, I have to apologize"

After a moment of awkward silence, she spoke.

"I think I should quit"

"What! What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark, I think that you are a good man, I really do. But maybe I'm not the right person for this job"

"You are the most right person in the world, for anything, I trust you"

"Don't worry, I will find and train my replacement in no time"

"Oh yeah, you will" He looked away from her, he was angry. "I won't go to the office today" he lay down again, his back to her.


	4. Chapter 4: The Pre-Stark Part 2

**A/N: Well, I decided to post the second part so we can go back to the story in my next post. In Chapter 5 we might find out what's wrong with Pepper. I hope you like this dynamic. There are a few more episodes in the past now and then but if you don't like it feel free to tell me :) Don't forget to review.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Pre-Stark Part 2**

"What do you mean he's not coming?" Said Obadiah Stane with an angry look on his face "He's not a boy who can just not go to school anymore, what happened?"

"He is working on a project Mr. Stane, and he was a little sick, I mean… he didn't..." She just wasn't a good liar.

"Yeah, whatever, he's not answering my calls, but you tell him to call me when he honor us with his presence" He left Tony's office and she sighed and sat on a chair. What a big pain in the ass was to work for Tony Stark.

She already had her resigning letter and scheduled the next week for training the next poor soul on Tony's list of assistants. Now she understood why there were 12 different girls before her and why everyone was so amazed when she broke the 3 months mark. The door opened.

"Why do you want to quit? From here you don't seem to do much"

"You have got to be kidding me" She stood and saw him, all cleaned up, well dressed and with a big rose bouquet.

"Don't-go-please" he said rapidly, offering the roses to her with an awkward gesture.

"I thought you wouldn't come"

"Oh, I'm not here to work" He offered the roses again and walked to her.

"Then why are you here?"

"Two things. First: I'm sorry Miss Potts, I was a total jerk"

"You have a problem" She accepted the bouquet and looked down at it.

"And that's why… I'm going to rehab" she looked up, surprised. "I'm doing it now, I just came by to say I'm sorry. And I guess you may have a letter for me to sign; but… I don't want you to quit"

"That's a third thing"

"Yes, but that's the most important. I…uhm…need you, you know, in a professional way"

"Of course"

"Yeah and I…Pepper, You are not just an employee, you care… and I trust you, you don't lie and don't want to take advantage of who I am. You are good, and I want to be better. So… I'll go to rehab, and if you still want to quit, it's ok, but don't do it."

"I don't know what to say"

"Say you will stay" he took her hand. She almost pulled it back.

"Say you will take your time on rehab seriously"

"I will. I promise"

"Then Mr. Stark, I'll keep everything in order until your return" He smiled widely, but then dissimulated it.

"Good" There was a moment of silence, then he frowned and let go her hand "I'll go now to deal with Obadiah. See you in 90 days?"

"Yes Mr. Stark" She smiled and he left.

They never talked about that episode again, neither he used drugs and was drinking less. The women didn't stop though and there where a lot of issues when he had to attend meetings and be responsible, but he had her for that.

When he came back he was respectful. He listened everything she had to say about everything… like some sort of friendship. They rarely talked about personal things; especially her, and they were still Mr. Stark and Miss Potts. But they were close in an awkward way. He started an art collection and put her in charge and finally launched JARVIS, one of his best projects. He gave Pepper complete access to the new codes for the house and the AI.

He remembered all of those moments in that dark cave. It wasn't true he had nothing. He had Pepper, almost 10 years and she was still by his side. He almost screwed everything a lot of times, but she never left. He had put her through everything, but she never left. Why?

He felt better just by thinking of her. The first time he saw her he thought she was beautiful and, of course, wanted to fuck her like many of his other assistants. He got to know her and actually started to respect her, she was so good at her job, always did more than she was required to. Of course, he didn't stop feeling attracted to her, but it evolved to something better.

He had been friends with Rhodey since college, and Obadiah was like a father to him, but Pepper was different, she was a lot more than that. Pepper had been always there for him, anytime. He knew her parents had died too, she wasn't close to any family member and he didn't know any boyfriend, though she never talked about her personal life; but he liked thinking they were together against the world.

"I may have someone"

"Excuse me Stark?" Said Yinsen, half asleep.

"There's a girl. And you can call me Tony, please"

The man realized what Tony was talking about "Well, tell me about her"

"She is… my assistant, but more like my boss" he smiled "She's got this… spirit, you know, she can do anything, not just at job, but with me"

"Where you in a relationship?"

"Oh, no…never. If I touch her she will kick my ass. But we're something, I can feel it"

"How is she?"

"Redhead" he said rapidly with a smirk and closing his eyes "well, she's beautiful, I met her when she was 24 and it's like time didn't pass. She has this cute smile, always blushes when I flirt with her. And her eyes, you should see her eyes, they are the most incredible shade of blue I've ever seen. And when she's angry it's just amazing, she gets all red and starts chasing me around. I really love making her angry" He sighed, "I've done horrible things, I may be called a genius, but there's nothing I can be proud about myself and, somehow, she never left me. She's honest. She doesn't care about how I look, or my money, or who I am"

"That sounds lovely. Every man is capable of love, and that's something to be proud of"

"Love? Do you think I love her? Do you think she could love me?"

"I think you have to get out of here and find out."

"Do you think is it possible to hear her voice?" he said with a soft whisper, but Yinsen didn't answer.

When he refused to build the Jericho, they tortured him, and he was ready to give up. But then he heard a familiar voice, her voice. Maybe he was hallucinating, but he was sure he saw a light, and then heard Pepper calling his name, pulling him back. That light became an idea, a fast flash of something crazy, but possible; and that voice saved his life. He would never forget that.


	5. Chapter 5: The pheromones

**A/N: Hi! thanks for your reviews, really made my day! I'm so happy you liked that little flashback, now we're back to the story and hope you like it too. I was working on a draft, like thinking where is this heading and I believe it will have about 26 chapters, I have great ideas and characters in mind so I hope you stick around and, of course, write your review :)**

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Pheromones**

"Come on, Tony, everybody is gone"

"Still embarrassing"

They were about to leave her office. He packed everything he needed to analyze her in three big and heavy cases, which Pepper was carrying to the lab.

"Not heavy?"

"No honey. Want me to lift you up too?"

"So funny… I need to get rid of that virus. The man has to protect his woman"

"Right. I guess you want to grab me by my hair and drag me to the cave too"

"We can do the hair thing later" he hugged her from behind and nuzzled her neck as they were entering the lab. "We could mess around a little before work"

She smiled and closed her eyes. She wanted him. Bad. But first things first, and she could lose all of her control and hurt Tony.

"Love, not… work" she managed to said as he was kissing her neck. He stopped.

"I really need to get rid of extremis. Put that over there, please Wonder Woman" He put a little box on a desk and turn it on. "Come on Jarvis, vacation is over"

"System online. Hello Sir, at your service"

"Hi Jarvis" She said

"Miss Potts, it's nice to see you are fine since our last encounter"

"Hey! You almost killed my girl, I will turn you into a GPS if you do something like that again"

"Ignore him Jarvis"

"As always"

"Ha-Ha… time to work buddy. I need to run some tests on this gorgeous lady. We'll do that first. Blood, hormone levels, heart and brain, though… we're going to need better equipment" He said looking around. "I need to know if there's more than the physical effect with extremis… and also, please get me Banner, I might need him"

"Immediately sir. Miss Potts, please take a sit"

"Here baby" He helped her sit.

They were monitoring her vitals, running the first scans when Jarvis spoke.

"Sir, it appears pheromone levels on Miss Potts are highly elevated" They looked at each other.

"So that's what the stuff was! Am I able to detect it Jar?

"Indeed sir. The chemical effect on Miss Potts's body had elevated the quantity, attraction and secretion of feminine pheromones and they can affect any male human around her, including you"

"Wow" He looked at her with eyes wide open.

"I guess it wasn't all love" He kissed her hand.

"Honey, please, I'm an idiot around you. Now it's just harder to dissimulate it. Don't doubt about the woman who made Tony Stark go nuts" he gave her a little peck.

"Romantic"

"I know… hey! Hold on, did you say any male human around her? Jarvis!"

"Yes sir, pheromones are meant to attract sexual interest of…"

"whoaaa!… hey!… shut up!" she laughed at his expression.

"Are you afraid about how irresistible am I?"

"I might need a new suit to crush anybody who dares to look at you twice. Anything else J?"

"Well, is highly probable that her endocrine system is also experimenting fluctuations, affecting her sleep, metabolism an sexual response"

"Excuse me?" Tony was suddenly alert. "What's wrong with her sexual response?"

"Nothing sir, her libido might be reaching higher levels" She opened her eyes widely.

"Hahaa! How about that!" She blushed furiously while he enjoyed the moment.

"Jarvis, please, you know him, why did you tell him something like that?"

"I'm sorry Miss Potts"

"Thanks buddy, I love to have all the variables on my equation" He raised an eyebrow at her, still blushing. "Besides all the… sexual stuff, what else J?"

"I have some theories, but I need to complete a full brain scan to be sure. The extremis virus could be enhancing every physical and mental capabilities on her too"

"We need to go to New York"

"What?"

"Honey, I don't have medical equipment in here, in Stark Tower I can run every scan I need. All I can do now is take blood samples and start synthetizing the virus"

"Isn't that what we need?"

"Is not as simple as that" She sighed.

"Are you going to be fine if we move back to New York?"

"Yeah, It's gonna be fun… I love New Year's Eve there, we can have date nights in the city, you love that! And it'll be a lot easier for me to work in the Tower"

"What about the panic attacks?"

"Well, I can talk about moving to New York without freaking out, and I was sleeping like a baby last night. Maybe I'm getting better. My absolute priority is to get you better, nothing will distract me, not even panic attacks" She caressed his cheek.

"You are so sweet, I love you Tony Stark. We're moving back to New York."

"Then it's settled. Jarvis"

"Scheduling your itinerary for tomorrow, I guess you'll need some time so the jet can be ready for the afternoon"

"Thanks Jarvis, make sure everybody is prepared for our arrival at the Tower, and I don't want people on my lab or in the medical floor"

Tony did what he could. He took several blood samples and did both physical and knowledge tests. It seemed like extremis wasn't just about the strength, Pepper's mental abilities and IQ were higher.

She mocked about being more intelligent than Tony all the way back home.

"Well, you may be a genius, but you're also a slave to your desire, remember?"

"Did I hurt your pride?"

"Please, my pride levels are higher than ever, just like your libido" He said raising an eyebrow at her when they stopped at a red light.

"But I'm not going to kill you for sex"

"That's actually on the top of my list of great ways to die"

"Tony…"

"Listen, if your brain is also enhanced, you can control it, I guess"

"Oh yeah, you guess. Then I'll have an orgasm and burn my boyfriend's dick" He opened his eyes with surprise.

"Kind of turned on right now"

"The light's green" She said with an irritated voice. He didn't realize other cars were honking.

"Love it when you're mad"

"Shut up Tony" They were closer to her building and she was already afraid to sleep. what is she hurt Tony again?


	6. Chapter 6: The date night

**A/N: Hello again! we'll get a little romantic today. I hope you like it too. You don't know how much I enjoy reading your reviews, you really can help me to come up with new ideas to continue. As you may guess, we'll read about their real ****first date soon :D.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Date Night**

She stormed out of the car, frustrated. She knew Tony was going to insist and worse than that, maybe Jarvis was right, she felt the urge to jump him with every touch, even when he kissed her in the platform; but then she started feeling hot and remembered that she could hurt him. Life could be very cruel.

She went straight to her bedroom, there were two new beds pulled together. He joined her.

"What do you think? We can still sleep together, but if you get nervous I can separate the beds"

"Are you afraid of me?"

"Not at all" she kissed her shoulder "but I don't want you to be afraid of yourself. You can't hurt me Pep, you won't"

"I already did"

"That was an accident, we'll try this now. There's also new clothes on your closet for both of us"

"Thoughtful"

"Yeah, but still need to go shopping in New York"

She surprised him with a kiss

"I'm sorry Tony, I don't want to be mad. I'm just…a little frustrated" then she lowered her voice "Jarvis may be right"

"About what?"

"I'll just go get a shower" she went to the bathroom and then something clicked in his brain.

"Are you talking about…? Pep! Honey!" She ignored him and took a long shower. When she was out Tony wasn't on the room.

"Tony?"

She went to the kitchen when she heard a sound.

"Oh my God, tell me you're not cooking"

"Of course not, I ordered Chinese" he pointed the bags from the delivery "I'm just serving the food, you know, we can have a date night and it's not cool to eat from the boxes"

"Then I should get dressed" she was wearing some old, comfortable pajamas she left in her apartment before moving in with Tony.

"I'm hungry, plus you look stunning"

"I look like a boy"

"A gorgeous boy, with great hair. Come on, dinner's ready" he smiled and walk to the dining room with their food, she followed him with a bottle of white whine from the kitchen.

"This was a present from you" she smiled as he opened the bottle.

"What are we celebrating?" he returned the smile

"Us, and this fancy date, just like our first date"

"Hey! Our first date was pretty fan…"

"Our real first date" she interrupted and he giggled a little.

"That was not a date," he poured some whine on their glasses

"It definitely was a date, the best one" she leaned and kissed him softly

"Whatever you say," he added with his eyes still closed, then felt the soft touch of her hand on his face. Tony opened his eyes.

"I kind of miss those days, it feels like they were in another life" he grabbed her hand. "You know, the playboy super hero, fighting crazy people, average terrorists, saving villages, ending human wars. Then, after New York… that was a lot"

"Oh yeah, tell me about it"

"How do you feel about that now?"

"I'm still afraid, I'm not gonna lie to you. But now I know that we're gonna be fine. You know… I made all this mistakes out of fear. I left you alone, threatened a terrorist, kept away everybody and was a coward hiding in a suit. Not anymore, I feel like facing some aliens. Suit or not, I will defeat those bastards again, for us" he took her hand.

"I'm happy to hear that. Tony I was so worried about you. I… thought I was loosing you… I thought I lost you in New York. I don't want to put you through that with extremis, and nightmares…" she looked sad.

"I understand. Honey, it was yesterday. Of course you're still in shock" she sighed.

"Tony, I killed Killian" He frowned, that was it, just like his own torment from New York's battle, she was also in pain. That could be the cause of her nightmare. "And Obadiah, I pressed the button… How many people have you… killed?"

"I don't know … Baby, you can't let that torture you, they were bad people, and you saved my life"

"I would do that again, believe me, I would do anything for you. But it's hard to accept it. I killed them. How do you do it?"

"Listen, Obadiah had killed hundreds of innocent people with his deals, I saw it with my eyes, kids and women subjugated by his clients, with my inventions. I was getting richer with that… and we stopped it, we made it better, and we didn't have another option. As for Killian, he was even worst, he was a monster, and I would be dead without you," she sobbed, "Pep, I've killed a lot of bad guys and I don't say they deserved it. I'm not God, but I know there was no choice, I saved families, innocent people, and it felt right… seeing the terror out of their faces, feeling peace on their souls. As I told you one day, I know in my heart that this is right, I don't know how."

"You are incredible, my real-life super hero" she sobbed again.

"I'm better because you made me want to be better. So, I can't ask you to forget about what happened, but never doubt about yourself, you're not a bad person, you have the most honest, pure, loyal, loving and incredibly fierce soul I've ever seen. I may be your super hero, but you are my angel" She was crying by the time he finished.

"That was beautiful" He hugged her close

"I will always be here for you. We will get through this together. Just like you were be my side after New York. I won't stop until you get better" He kissed the top of her head.

"What did you feel, when I fell?" she said, still crying against his chest, she wanted to talk about it since Rhodey rescued them. She felt him shiver.

"I never felt that way before" he said while caressing her soft hair "Not even when my parents died. Don't get me wrong, I did love them, and it hurt like hell. But when I saw you…dying…. In front of my eyes, I was ready to jump after you. I just didn't because I needed to kill that bastard first, I wanted to crush his bones with my bare hands, make him suffer. I was so angry. After that… the plan was actually to…"

"Don't say that"

"I love you Pepper, you are my entire world, and the only one I have, my family, the love of my life I might say" She looked up to him with red eyes.

"I love you too. I'll never leave you Tony Stark" She kissed him again, this time harder. They opened their mouths deepening the kiss. He pulled her onto his lap. They stopped when they needed air, and then hugged for several minutes, until she calmed down.

"The food's getting cold," He said.

"Let's have a nice date, no more crying," she said caressing his face. She went back to her chair and they ate their food.

Later that night, they went to bed. It was hard for her to fall asleep, she was still a little afraid, but she didn't think about the same horrible things like the night before. She felt better, calm. Tony's words were just what she needed. He rolled to her.

"It's ok baby, sleep" he hugged her. She tensed, but then relaxed. She was soon asleep.

When he opened his eyes she was on his arms, sleeping peacefully. He took a deep breath and felt besotted with her scent. He ran his hand through her body until he grabbed her ass.

"Tony…" she then felt little kisses on her neck. Tony's hand went under her t-shirt, stroking her flat abdomen, then went up to unhook her bra. "Tony, don't" He opened his eyes.

"This is driving me crazy" he buried his head on her shoulder and pressed against her body. She moaned a little when she felt his hard erection on her hip. Then felt the fire again. She sighed.

"Baby steps" she pushed him away softly "We made it trough the night" she smiled.

"Yay…" he said with a dull tone, which made her laugh. When they faced each other, he smiled too. "But I need a cold shower" they laughed.


	7. Chapter 7: The first date Part 1

A/N: Hi! we go back again before New York :) This is going to be divided in two parts again. There's some smut in the second part, so this is the first warning, I don't want to offend anybody. I always hope you can enjoy this and have some fun :). Don't forget to review. I may post the second part later tonight or tomorrow. it's 21:22 here so "my" tomorrow will take a few hours, but I get up early on Sundays to go for a jog... Now I'll stop boring you with my stuff... let's read!

* * *

**Chapter 7: The first date, part 1**

**"**How are you going to resign? I don't accept it," She laughed. First she was trying to clear Stark expo, a droid blew up in her face; HE saved her and then they kissed. She felt dizzy, but somehow happy. That kiss wasn't weird at all, it was something they both were finally ready to do.

"We need to get out of this roof first." She added.

"Great idea! What about dinner?"

"Are you serious? I'm not finished with this mess" He rolled his eyes.

"Oh my God, I want to break up with you" he said when he walked to pick up his helmet.

"You can't break up with me, you have to take me in a date first"

"That's what I'm trying to do!"

"NOT now… and ask nicely"

"Why not now?"

"We are on a rooftop, you're bleeding, and blew up Queens"

"Just the park" he muttered, he looked like a child.

"We can talk about that date later, get me back first" He sighed

"Fine" he put on his helmet, and she kissed where his mouth was supposed to be. "Hang on beautiful," he said before they were flying back to the ground.

Tony was on his penthouse in Manhattan, she insisted in going back to her hotel room, and now he was confused. He didn't know how to deal with a real relationship. No girl had ever said no to him, or his money, or name, or looks so he had never worried about being a boyfriend, how could he do that? The bell ringed.

"Who is it Jarvis?"

"Miss Potts, I will let her in"

"No, no, no!" he rushed to the door "Let me"

When he saw her a big smile appeared on his face, better when he realized she had pizza and beer.

"This must be everyman's dream" she smiled

"I never said thank you, you saved my life tonight"

"That I did" he helped Pepper with the food and let her in.

"You didn't have dinner, did you?"

"Well, I had plans, but then the girl said no" she giggled and went to the kitchen, when she came back with plates and cutlery, he was already eating on the rug of the living room.

"You're such a snob," he said with a moth full of pizza, then opened a beer can.

"I see you were hungry," She said when she joined him on the floor, then took off her heels.

"Sorry, want some?" he pushed his slice of pizza into Pepper's mouth. She bit, but almost choked "I'm so sorry!" he pulled back the slice "Are you ok?"

"Are you trying to kill me on our first date?" she was red, and laughing, and coughing, but managed to swallow. He was paralyzed.

"This is not a date, I will get you to a nice place, like a real date"

"You're such a snob," he teased with a smile and kissed his cheek.

"Nobody likes a smartass," he retorted

"Now I want to break up with you, and I can because, yes, we are on a date" she took a sip of her beer

"Stop quoting me, it's annoying. And well, if we are on a date, and we aren't… what… what would we do?" he tried to avoid eye contact, he was nervous.

"_You_ are annoying… we could talk" she was also a little nervous.

"We talk all the time."

"About us"

"Uhm" he turned to her. He was nervous, for the first time on his life. He was used to make jokes to avoid moments like this, even when he kissed her, he was too afraid she would reject him and get mad that he just said "weird", if something bad happened, he could just walk away saying he wasn't serious. But he knew this was his first and only chance at something with Pepper, he had always wanted it, but now was scared, like a teenager. Maybe he should go with the truth.

"I'm nervous," he said in a low voice.

"What?" she frowned and smiled when he blushed, now that was something new.

"You… make me… Potts, don't make this harder" he looked away.

"Oh, please, I'm enjoying this" She giggled.

He played with his hands and looked to the rug "Look, I do want to do this, but I'm nervous, I don't want to screw things up. I mean…I've not… uhm… Pepper, I want to try… you're the dream girl …I've…I… uhm... _yo_u…" she took his face in her hands and made him look up, then kissed him softly.

"Please don't say anything else" she against his lips "I'm nervous too"

"Because of me?"

"Yes, but also for everybody" he grabbed her hand, trying to motivate her to continue, "What do you think people will say when they find out about us?"

"Does it matter?"

"It does. You made me CEO and…"

"Stop it right there, it doesn't matter because it's not true. Our life is ours, and I made you CEO because you deserved it, more than me. This has nothing to do with your professional lives. This is abut us"

"I know" she said caressing his cheek, it didn't feel weird at all "The press will say the worst things"

"We'll prove them wrong" he took her hand and pressed it against his lips, then kissed it and she smiled.

"Why do you want…_me_?" she regretted to say that when the words left her mouth.

But now he knew what to say.


	8. Chapter 8: The first date Part 2

**A/N: I'm so sorry! I forgot to post it! but I'm happy because I could change it a little, I think you will enjoy this one, is a long one. I already warned you in my last note but again, this will have some explicit situations. Well, now let's read! don't forget your opinions :)**

**PS: After this one, we'll go back again to the story :)**

* * *

**Chapter 8: The first date, part 2**

"Let me tell you a story" he sighed and stared at her blue eyes. "When I was in Afghanistan there was a man with me, very smart… he was a good man, helped me build the suit" she was surprised, he had never talked about Afghanistan "One night he told me about his family...wife, kids... then he asked me if I had somebody, of course I said no and he said: 'so you are a man who has everything, and nothing'" he looked down and played with her fingers "But that wasn't true, I had someone, and that someone saved my life" he looked up again.

"Tony, you don't have to talk about this if you're not comfortable with it"

"Oh, no, no… it's cool" he sighed, "I've always wanted to tell you this… so… They tortured me… you know" she tighten her grip on his hand "and I was ready to die… I mean, why would I fight to be alive? But then… then I swear I heard your voice, it may sound crazy that saved my life… It was like that night in Venice. Remember?" he smiled "you were so mad at me" she nodded with a sad smile and then he continued "Anyway...In the cave, Pep, I swear it felt so real, like you were just there, pulling me back. You saved my life again… I don't have anyone but you, I really meant it" he stopped to wipe a tear from Pepper's face with his thumb. "And I want to be with you, for real."

She swallowed, but couldn't response. She just leaned and pressed her lips against his, making a statement. She had been in love with him for so long. She didn't know since when, but she faced it with all his strength when he was in captivity. After hours paralyzed she went down to the workshop and stared at the classic Ford, it was Tony's favorite. He loved to dismantle and put it back together. He was doing it when she insisted he was late for that damn flight. She went and sat in the car. She cried his name everyday in the dark and quiet room, she prayed for him to be back. Maybe he did hear her voice somehow, she wished with all her strength he could, so he would know somebody would be waiting for him.

That was reassuring. She knew they shared a weird connection. They didn't talk about love, neither she was ready to say the words; but in that moment, with they both lying on the rug while kissing, she knew they were meant for each other. It felt right because then, after a little more than 10 years they made it right.

Pepper opened her mouth letting Tony explore it. She was on top and gripping his head between her hands. She scratched softly the line of his jaw, enjoying the gritty sensation of his facial hair on her fingers.

"Oh my God. This is really happening" Tony said against her lips when he put his hands on her legs, pulling them up to be around his waist, then went up the find the zipper on her back, his hands trembling.

"It opens from the front" breathless, she sat to unfasten the big black belt; the zipper was under a fabric layer. She reached it but he stopped her hands.

"Let me" and so he did, slowly revealing more skin "This is great, love this system" when he finished, it was easy for her to get rid of the dress. He was delighted and absolutely distracted with her body wearing just her black underwear when she reached the edge of his MIT t-shirt to pull it up.

"Oh my God, Tony. What is this? Are you injured? I'm such an idiot, of course you are" shirtless and very turned on, he didn't remember he might be a little bruised.

"Pep, please! I'm totally fine. I swear" he put his hands on her back to bring her closer.

"Tony" He, then, interrupted her with a quick kiss.

"Just be gentle" she smiled.

"This is wrong"

"And that's why it's so good" he rolled to be on top "don't think" then he went straight to her neck and down. He filled her body with a trail of kisses and shivered when she moaned softly.

Pepper put her hands on the hot skin of his back, feeling every hard muscle as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He got rid of his pants and finally the rest of their clothes. He stared at her breathless and still nervous… he had a reputation, and he knew it was all true, but it felt like everything he had done before was leading to this moment and he was having a hard time to control himself.

She pulled him again for another heated kiss; he could feel the heat from her body rubbing against his. He prayed to be able to last and closed his eyes trying to ignore all the noises his very contact was producing on her. Pepper stared scratching his back and neck and he went to kiss her jawline and whispered close to her ear "I want you so damn bad" Pepper moaned and scratched him harder when his kisses when down to her chest and breasts.

Tony was applying the right pressure to all her right nerves. He growled when she stared moving her hips under him, looking for friction, driven for passion. His hand went down, wanting to know is she was ready, but the mere touching made here moan out loud, bringing him closer. He stopped.

"Don't stop… " She pulled him up to kiss him again. Her hand reached down to grab his erection and guided him. He almost bit her but enjoyed the feeling "Now Tony"

"Pepper, pepper, pepper" He said her name all the way in her body, feeling like entering a whole new dimension of pleasure. He was aware of every physical reaction, but was also overwhelmed by his own need and possession. He kissed her again, violently and then their desire exploded in a frenzy of motion, sweat and curses. She didn't remember to feel that wild in her life. She wanted him to take her as hard as he was doing it wanting to reassure the way the belonged to each other. She felt his desire, his love and his regret for all the time they have lost. She groaned, as she was closer, tightening the grip of her legs around him, dealing with pain and satisfaction at the same time. He finally exploded inside her with a deep growl so she felt him accelerate with the remains of his strength until she cryed his name and bit his shoulder with her own liberation. Just then, he stopped.

"Oh God… that was painfully amazing…. ouch!" Tony felt her punch his chest, but pulled her closer under him with his embrace.

"What… do you mean… with painfully?... Moron" she said while tracing the line of his goatee while trying to catch her breath

"Well" he sighed, "I have to tell you the truth" he looked her in the eyes, lifting his body a little. She frowned, looking worried; but he started laughing, "I am totally injured and now it hurts like hell" Pepper tried to sit, looking terrified, but he tightened his grip around her. "No, no, no, don't get up, you're so warm and comfy," she smiled when he pouted and tried to put his face on her breasts.

"Oh my God, Tony. Did I hurt you?"

"It wasn't my first time, you know," he said against her skin caressing hr hip with his hand.

"Oh, I know that" she replied now hitting softly his shoulder.

"Hey! Why do you keep doing that? I'm wounded!" he lifted his head to look at her faking an insulted expression.

"You big liar"

"I'm not lying! I was attacked by a crazy Russian! Have you seen the size of those guys? Although… if you want to go all fifty shades of Potts on me, I can't take a lot more punching" he smirked at her, now making her giggle.

"What am I going to do with you now?" she said caressing his face.

"Just stay with me… you know… for a couple of…millenniums " he smiled, feeling really happy just with her presence, enjoying her touch, wishing to be like that just with her and forever. For the first time in his life, he wanted to wake up with somebody in his arms. He was off guard when she spoke.

"What happened Tony?" Pepper said with a soft voice.

"We did a lot of kinky stuff," he said with a smirk and tried to kiss her again.

"You know what I'm talking about" of course he knew what she was talking about.

"Want the short version or the long one?" he rolled to be on his side, she did the same until they faced each other.

"I just want you to tell me"

"Well uhm… I basically… look, the RT worked with a palladium core, which is poisonous" she frowned. "And it was burning inside my chest so… I had like a week" he said raising an eyebrow and with a little smile.

"Is that funny to you?" she interrupted sounding a little irritated.

"Come on, Pep. I'm alive!"

"Oh, God. And you didn't tell me" now she was mad again.

"I told you I tried"

"Not harder enough!"

"In my defense… I did… and hello, I'm the victim here! I was trying to tell you I wanted to be with you too… but I was dying!" she sat, taking her dress from the floor to cover "What was I supposed to say? 'Hey look, I have feelings for you, we should have dinner… but uhm… tonight because tomorrow I might to die' " she sighed.

"You were going to tell me that in the office" she said thinking out loud.

"Kind of… maybe without the…death part" she turned to him.

"And you did all what you did…" she sighed again, predicting the answer. She just knew Tony too well. "Why?"

"I wanted you to be mad at me" he sat too, and kissed her shoulder "Maybe that way it could be easier for you" she fought a tear, feeling guilty.

"That was stupid" Now she was angry, but not with him. Surprisingly, that made sense. Why didn't she insist? She knew something was wrong. He was suffering… in his own weird way and she wasn't there for him.

"Why the hell did you put that in your body?"

"Well, it saved my life when it had to. How was I supposed to know…"

"Oh, please! Aren't you a genius?"

"Why are you so mad again?"

"Because you make me! How did you even survive?"

"I made a new RT, with another element. See? It looks really cool." he said looking at his chest and tapping the blue light.

"And why you didn't do that before?"

"It's… a new element. I should totally get a price for this" she looked at it.

"What do you mean new element?"

"Well, I didn't discover it. My father did. He couldn't synthetize it back in his time"

She opened her eyes widely.

"How did you even do that?! Is that possible?"

"I redecorated… you won't like it. Please don't leave me" she sighed in frustration…again.

"I don't know if I want to keep talking about this" He hugged her.

"It's ok. This will keep me alive. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'll call you next time"

"Don't even think about dying"

"You know what I'm thinking now? We should move to my bedroom" he run his hand through her back.

"Oh, we will" she pulled back to look at him "but you are going to get some sleep"

"Oh, mom… but I want to play with my Barbie a little more!" He finally made her laugh. She just couldn't be mad at him. They were both idiots. But now they were ready to be idiots together. At least she wanted to take the risk. They went to his bed…_ to sleep_… and it wasn't weird at all. Now they could start fresh, even if anyone would have tell her not to fall for a man like that, she knew Tony wouldn't hurt her and more than that she was feeling an overwhelming happiness… now she could understand what Tony meant with feeling that something was right.

Tony woke up feeling pain all over his body, but he was happier than ever and ready to go through physical torture for another night like that. For the first time in his life, he wanted to see a woman next to him, but she wasn't there. He sat up. So that's how it felt like.

"Jarvis! Where's Pepper?"

"Good Morning Sir. Miss Potts presence was required by the authorities and she also had a reunion concerning…"

"Yeah, bla bla… did she say something?"

"She said I should let you rest. She also left you a message"

"What are you waiting for? Tell me!"

"It's on your forehead, sir" he frowned until he realized there was a little post-it stuck to his face.

_'__**Thanks for a great first date. It was totally a date. Potts"**_

He smiled and laid back down to the bed. He was amazed and overwhelmed by a lot of confusing feelings. He would figure it out later; but there was a first step to make.

"Jarvis, call Pepper"

"Immediately sir." He soon heard her voice filling the room.

"I'm busy Tony"

"I feel cheap. Why did you use my body and left me?" he could hear her trying to repress a giggle.

"I'm sorry. I don't have an assistant to take care of this situations"

"Whoa… that one was bellow the belt… Anyway, I forgot to ask you something. It'll take just a sec"

"Then ask"

"Would you be my girlfriend Miss Potts?" There was silence on the line for a few seconds. "Pepper?"

"I don't know, I would be a wreck… always worrying, thinking if you're going to die…" she teased him.

"Don't forget crazy about me, that's the best part…."he cleared his throat "Just say yes…" he replied talking very fast, like when he was nervous. And he was. Pepper enjoyed to make him loose his cool, but she was blushing and smiling like a teenager, trying to take her time to pronounce her obvious response.

"_Yes._ Would that be all Mr. Stark?"

"I'm afraid not Miss Potts. And wear something pretty tonight. I'm taking you in a real date".


	9. Chapter 9: The flight

**A/N: Hello my dear readers! Thanks for all your reviews, I enjoy every word and opinion. I think this fic will be bigger and better than i thought before :D... Of course, I hope you enjoy this chapter too... we're finally on our way to New York... and you know that New York can be a lot... I will tie a lot of things I've been mentioning since the first chapters and from the movies so, if you read something weird you can expect and explanation later :)... **

**PS: I don't know if I have to say this, but I don't want any of you to be confused, so... Our story starts just after the fight with Killian from Iron Man 3. The first scene is something that we'll see soon again, so...that scene took place in New York. I just wanted to start with that to set the mood for something that I'll need later. Finally... Tony still has his RT he hasn't been to China yet to get the shrapnel out of his body... we'll get there! And I'll introduce some other beloved characters along the way.**

**PS2: This is for an anonymous reader. You know who you are, but I can't answer to your amazing reviews so I'll say thanks here. I really appreciate all your ideas and hope you notice that you have helped me a lot to work on new ideas for the story so... thanks again my friend, you make me really happy with those long reviews and all the little details you love or suggest ;)**

**PS3: I'm sorry if I make a lot of mistakes, but remember that my native language is actually spanish... and as I said before, my english may be a little rusty haha... sorry for this long section too... let's reaaad!**

* * *

**Chapter 8: The flight**

Pepper insisted to go to the office in the morning. There were a lot of things to do before going to New York. They weren't leaving until 4:00pm, giving Tony enough time to take care about some other things, like paying a visit to Happy at the hospital, he was still a little angry with that. He could barely open his eyes but the doctors said he would recover, although it could take a little longer.

"Take care Hap. Mom and I have to go to New York, but we love you ok?" the bodyguard smiled a little. "Something happened, we'll tell you when you get better. The important thing is… the bad guys wont bother us again. If you need anything the doctors will tell me… thanks for everything, you are a good friend… I'll get you a raise" The nurse behind him giggled a little.

"He'll be in the best hands Mr. Stark"

"Keep me posted"

He left the hospital just in time to wait for Rhodey at the apartment. He wanted to say goodbye.

"What about your house? What are you gonna do with all that mess?" They were hanging on the living room.

"I don't know. I don't really want to go back there. I think we'll rebuild the house, but I have to take care about Pepper first, then we'll see if there's something to recover or whatever. I don't think I'm coming back until she's extremis free. Thanks God Stark Tower was ready"

"You sure about the whole New York thing? The last time we talked about it you went bananas man"

"I can do it. I have to. That's the only place I can work with all what I need and without any distraction. Anyway… I feel better, focused"

"Well, it's good you feel better, because you look like crap"

"When you are a real Iron Man you get used to the war injures" Tony teased.

"Well, I'm not Iron Man, but I'm both the war machine aaand the Iron Patriot. So, how cool is that?"

"Dude, it's just War Machine and Iron Patriot, there's no _the_" Tony rolled his eyes and Rhodey laughed. "Plus… I made those suits"

"Sure… Tony, speaking of that "he looked serious "What about your suit? Be honest" Tony couldn't respond as Pepper entering the apartment interrupted them.

"James! What a nice surprise" Rhodes went to salute Pepper. When he hugged her Tony frowned. "We'll miss you in New York" he didn't let her go for what, in Tony's mind, where minutes. When he saw his friend closing his eyes he rushed and awkwardly separated them.

"Hey… Rhodey…enough" he cleared his throat and with a movement of his arm wrapped Pepper close to him "Hard day at work?" he didn't let her answer, just kissed her fervently. Rhodey was just looking and feeling uncomfortable until Tony let her go, totally out of breath.

"Eh…" she blushed "Hi sweetheart"

"We were just talking about our trip… Rhodey came by to say goodbye"

"Yeah… but I don't want to interrupt anything"

"Oh please, you know him. Do you want some coffee? We still have some time until we leave" Rhodey nodded and she went to the kitchen, Tony looked to his friend.

"What are you thinking?"Tony inquired.

"About what?"

"I don't know… she looks nice today, doesn't she?"

"Well, I guess…"

"What do you mean _I guess_? Are you calling my girlfriend ugly?"

"What?! No!" Rhodey laughed, "Are you ok man?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I with a girl like that? She loves me you know?"

"I know that… sadly for her" He said, still confused, but smiling at Tony's expression.

* * *

"You're mad at me," Tony said… again, while they were flying to New York. The worst part… there where almost 4 hours left locked with his annoying boyfriend in a plane. "Say something"

"I'm not mad"

"Yes, you are"

"Tony, I have a headache… please don't be…_you_ right now ok?"

"Why are you mad at me?" she exhaled. They were sitting facing each other, but she was trying to look through the window to avoid him. His gaze was as irritating as his words.

"You were such a jerk with James, and don't think I don't know why"

"So… you are mad at me"

"Yes, I am" she turned to him "You know how stupid was to be jealous of your friend? Even if something happened in his mind, and I doubt it, it wasn't even his fault"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, if you don't want to be honest then don't talk to me. You are not making this any easier" he sighed.

"Ok… you're right. My fault. Won't happen again. I don't want anybody looking at you… even if it is because of the pheromones" she exhaled again "What is it that I'm not making any easier?"

"This flight… I don't feel quite good"

"Why?" he leaned and touched her knee "Want something? You look a little pale"

"Tony, there's something wrong" she felt her hands getting cold, but her body… she felt hot and suffocated.

"Pep… honey, calm down… I will get you water" He tried to stand up but Pepper gripped his arm.

"No, don't go" He obeyed and knelt down, next to her.

"Breathe"

"What is happening?" she looked her hands, there was a little and intermittent orange glow. "Tony help me" she fought tears. What if she was about to explode right there?

"Pepper, listen" she looked scared "LOOK AT ME!" she nodded and tried to focus in his eyes "breathe baby. Don't worry, you won't hurt anybody, just focus… you can control this"

"What if I blow up?"

"You won't" he took her hands, they were a little hot, but nothing he couldn't take "Don't stop looking at me ok?... let's talk about… let's…uhm… just focus Pep. You can do it, you control me…and I'm way worse than that stupid virus" she closed her eyes "Think about something happy… we can take that cruise to the Greek islands, that'll be great, like a honeymoon… you can be mad at me all what you want. Sounds good?"

"I could use a vacation" she was trying to slow down her breath

"Yeah" Tony kissed her right hand "We'll be in New York for New Year's Eve, then we can take a week for vacation."

"And what about extremis?"

"Please, You'll be fixed by then, I promise" he caressed her arms and then hugged her; she was still a little hot, but not glowing. "Just like that… you can control it. I'm sorry. you don't need more stress. I guess extremis makes me possessive too."

"Right. Because you weren't _that_ way before... " she teased and he giggled when she spoke against his chest.

"You can't blame me," He said feeling dizzy because of her proximity. He kissed the top of her head and started running his hands through her back while a lot of memories were rolling in his mind like a very vivid movie, memories about him and Pepper in that same plane through the past 2 years. He inhaled deeply and kissed her forehead.

"Tony" she whispered softly, caressing his arms. "I know what you're thinking"

"Everything? Because I'm thinking about a lot of stuff" his hands went to her neck and the back of her head, she shivered. "I just need to touch you… I know we can't…" he put his forehead against hers.

"I don't think Rhodey felt the pheromones' effect, at least not like you do" she took his head in her hands and smiled, fighting her own desire, and memories.

"I know, no one ever could feel this way. Maybe it's that…love thing you said" she smiled and pulled back to her seat. They looked at each other in silence until she spoke.

"Maybe, because I feel it too and you don't have any enhanced pheromones" she tried to smile and change the sad look in his face. And she did it. But there was a lot more in Tony's expression, when he tried to smile too she finally realized: he was scared, and nervous. She feared it might not be just because of her episode, she just knew him too well to recognize all his tics. Another memory appeared in her mind… also in the same plane; the only difference was: they were leaving New York.


	10. Chapter 10: The ghosts

**A/N: Hi! my intention is to post new chapters everyday but yesterday my boyfriend wanted to see Pacific Rim haha...I'm sorry... but here I am again! I hope you enjoy this. Things will get a little troubled in New York and here is where it all starts! Thanks for all your reviews and I'm looking forward to read your thoughts on this chapter.**

**PS: Pacific Rim was great! go see it!**

**Let's reaaad :)**

* * *

**Chapter 9: The ghosts**

Tony was feeling nervous. When the pilot announced they were about to land he shuddered, he felt cold and sick, maybe he wasn't ready after all.

Pepper was saying something about the Stark Tower but he was ready to faint and, of course, he didn't hear a word though he nodded and smiled. When they hit the ground he jumped in his seat, tapping with his fingers. Things got worse when they came out of the plane.

"Mr. Stark, we have to leave, there's a lot of press in and out the airport" His driver said as they approached the town car. Pepper felt Tony's grip on her hand tighten. The man spoke again. "Also, Mr. Banner is already waiting for you at Stark Tower." Tony nodded and pulled Pepper in the car with him. She knew he was sweating and cold. They were quiet for almost the whole ride to the tower.

"Talk" She finally said

"It's great to be back, do you want something for dinner? It's about midnight here but I'm a little hungry. Did I tell you Bruce is going to work with us? He was in Canada, but got my message and came here to help. I need to call Fury too"

"What was that?" she frowned.

"Pretty much…everything that's going through my head"

"I see. I'm still not sure this was a good idea"

"Please" he turned to her "this was a great idea, we can relax and work without anybody bothe…" he stopped when he saw pepper looking something behind him with a worried expression "Oh God, the sooner I get you better, the sooner we'll be outta here." He added when he turned to see a horde of reporters crowding outside the tower. She felt when tony gripped her hand.

"Please, take us inside the tower" she said to the driver as the young man tried to honk his way to the underground parking in the building. They saw flashes and barely heard voices calling their names until they were inside. Tony rushed out of the car.

They were on the elevator. Tony was a little sweaty, and quiet again.

"Tony, I've been with you for years; when you are quiet, and that never happens, I can notice"

"Gimme a break here Pep, I'll be fine when I get to do a little work"

"Oh yeah, forgot you have a play date with Bruce. I normally hate when you bury yourself in the lab but if that will keep you relaxed it's fine for me" she caressed his arm.

"Though I prefer to bury myself in some other places" he turned to Pepper and put his hands around her hips "A little work is just what I need… especially considering that said other places are not currently available " he smirked. At least, inappropriate innuendos were enough to know her Tony was there.

"Work hard and they will be very soon" she put her hands on his chest with a suggestive smile. Tony blinked. And hugged her closer to kiss her softly. Jarvis interrupted them when they reached the top floor.

"Welcome home, it's nice to see you both"

Pepper struggled to pull Tony away as he was kissing her cheek and then her neck. She giggled when tony begged to stay in the elevator with a soft whisper to her ear.

"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt your affective activities but Dr. Banner is already waiting for you at the medical floor." Tony stopped and sighed against Pepper's neck, then lifted his head.

"J, we have talk about this. What do we do when I'm with miss Potts?"

"Don't interrupt you, sir. But due to her condition I assumed you can't…"

"Enough of that!" Pepper interrupted and finally pushed Tony away. "Is Dr. Banner already installed in the building?"

"Yes, he took possession of one of the apartments; and Miss Potts, I have 79 messages for you, most of them requiring an interview regarding the events of the past days"

"Oh my God" She said as she walked in the penthouse "We'll need to schedule a press conference" when Pepper didn't hear steps she turned to see Tony paralyzed and still in the elevator. "Tony" she said with a low voice

"Right…" he walked in looking to every corner of the big living room, everything looked just like he remembered before Coulson arrived that night, t was almost like anything happened.

"The place looks great, don't you think?"

"I would prefer to redecorate a little" he stared at the window, remembering how a god threw him like he wasn't heavier than a feather.

"I brings bad memories for me too"

"I know"

"Well, that's what I get for being a super hero's girlfriend" he smiled. "We will redecorate. And now I can do all the heavy lifting" now they both laughed.

"No more heavy lifting for you. It was embarrassing enough the last time" she rolled her eyes "Wanna come to say hi to Bruce?"

"Not now, I have to make a few calls, and it's late"

"Actually, it's pretty early" he said looking to his watch. It was 1:30 am

"You go, but hurry" she gave him a peck and went to their bedroom, ordering Jarvis something Tony didn't pay attention to. He took the elevator again; he was a little edgy, but better than he thought.

"Look who's finally here" said Bruce when Tony entered one of the labs in the huge medical floor.

"Miss you pal!" they hugged "I really need your brain right now" Tony said as they sat in the couch Bruce was before.

"I did read your notes. This thing is amazing" Bruce said holding a folder.

"Dude, it's not amazing when it's threatening your girlfriend's life. And thanks for the help by the way…what an Avenger"

"You said you didn't want us to be the justice league." Bruce teased giggling a little.

"Yeah, I know"

"You still defeated the bad guys, didn't you?"

"Totally kicked their burning Asses. I'm Iron Man"

"Yeah…then why do you want to get the arc reactor out of your chest?" He said pulling document out of the folder.

"We can talk about that later. Extremis first"

"Do you realize that the procedure takes more time than what the shrapnel needs to get to your heart right? If you take it out…"

"It's an option Bruce, forget about _that_" Tony said with an irritated voice.

"If you love Pepper as much as you said you don't have to just cure her Tony. You have to take care of yourself too, don't do anything stupid"

"Just drop it"

"I'm not talking about the surgery. Have you seen yourself in a mirror? You fought like three days ago. You need a doctor, and rest"

"Look, I didn't came here to take a lecture so…" he tried to stand but Bruce interrupted him.

"Fine. I won't talk about it. We'll start in the morning"

"That's better" Tony both stood up, Bruce was still reading documents from the folder

"We'll fix her. But go to sleep now, I need you 100%"

"Thanks man. I can't trust many people you know, and she's my entire life" Bruce nodded with a smile as Tony hugged him and then walked away.

When he entered his bedroom Pepper was watching the news. They were slowly getting back to reality. One day Tony Stark was dead, the world was mourning their most beloved hero, and the next one he was alive and defeated a whole terrorist group, a normal one for the world.

"You look tired" Pepper said

"I am. I came back from the dead" He went to the bed and placed his head on her legs. Pepper massaged his scalp softly. "Oh, this feels so good" he sighed while relaxing at her touch.

"What did Bruce say?" she continued, looking at Tony with love in her eyes.

"We'll start tomorrow" he yawned.

"Get out of those clothes" she said trying to pull his t-shirt.

"Yeah baby…" He was half asleep. She giggled a little until she saw the bruised back of his boyfriend.

"Tony" she sounded severe and he frowned. "Tony get up" He sat, looking exhausted.

"Before you say something. I feel completely fine." She continued pulling out his shirt "Don't do this Pep"

"Arms up" He obeyed. When he was shirtless Pepper looked at him with her angry Pepper face, as he called it. "Any broken bones?"

"No, just a dislocated shoulder, but the doctor at Shield fixed it. I swear I'm fine honey"

"You don't look fine" she touched a cut on his stomach

"I've been worse" he reached her hand and kissed it

"Do you want a massage or something?"

"I don't think I could… _resist_… that, and I'm not talking about pain" she caressed his face softly "I've been taking some pills" she sighed.

"Well, then just sleep. We'll talk about this tomorrow. You need to slow down Tony" He lay back again and snuggled her closer, kissing her softly without a word.

He was fast asleep, again. She was happy that being in New York didn't affect him, but it was affecting her. She was worried about what happened in the plane. She felt like she was about to explode, what if the virus was becoming unstable? But she didn't want Tony to work as tired as he was. And what if she had another nightmare?

At 7:00 am Jarvis woke Tony up.

"Good morning sir. It's 7 am, December 27th."

When he reached to Pepper she wasn't there. He opened his eyes to find himself alone; still shirtless and wearing his jeans.

"Jarvis where's Pepper?" he said still tired.

"Miss Potts is sleeping in the guest room, sir."


	11. Chapter 11: The green friend

**A/N: New chapter! I think I'll try to go a little further than the very happy ending we saw in the movie. Don't panic! haha I'll do my best to give you a good story... Let's read :) and don't forget to review!**

* * *

**Chapter 11: The green friend**

"Good morning Miss Potts. It's 8:25 am, December 27th" Said Jarvis when Pepper opened her eyes. She was a little disoriented and tried to look for Tony, then she remembered.

"Where's Tony Jarvis?"

"He is in his lab at the medical floor with Dr. Banner. Do you want me to tell him that you are awake?"

"Eh… no Jarvis, thanks"

"You are always welcome Miss Potts"

She jumped out of the bed, feeling a little anxious. Knowing Tony he was going to give her a bad time because she left him in the middle of the night. She went to the shower.

* * *

"Why are you so quiet? It's weird" Said Bruce while looking Pepper's blood samples on a microscope.

"Why is everybody so upset when I'm quiet? I though I was annoying"

"Oh, you are, but we still love you" Bruce did his best to change his mood but Tony looked irritated and still tired.

"Uhm… I'm ok, I just want to solve this as fast as we can" He was modifying a holographic DNA structure when Pepper appeared in the Lab.

"Good morning gentlemen"

"Pepper! It's so nice to see you again" Bruce went to salute her with a hug. "Well, its nicer now without my friend…and all the destruction" she smiled.

"Agreed" She gave a quick look to Tony, still working with the holograms "Tony?"

"Oh, you remember you _have_ a boyfriend. _Nice_" Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Did I miss something here?" Both Tony and Pepper ignored him.

"Tony, please. I'm sorry but…."

"Oh, you _are_ sorry. Why? Leaving me without a word?"

"Guys… Do you want me to leave?... No?...Okay…" They were still arguing and looking at each other ignoring Bruce when he spoke.

"Are you mad at me? Mister _I'm-tinkering-with-my-stupid-robots-all-nigh-long? _"

"Those stupid robots saved the world!"

"Oh, I thought Iron Man _did_ that."

"Burned…" Said Bruce with a low voice, awkwardly standing behind them.

"Are we going to discuss _that_ again? I did that because I was having nightmares!" He tried to ignore Pepper's last comment.

"Why do you think I did it? Do you want me to kill you?"

"Well, I don't want you to walk away without telling me" he went back to the holograms.

"Oh no, you are not ignoring me with that thing!"

"I'm ignoring you because you are going back to stupid things that doesn't matter anymore!"

"I could just go, seriously" Bruce tried again.

"Well, what it does matter now is that I can…"

"I told you! You won't hurt me, stop being afraid Pepper"

"I could help if you were a little comprehensive"

"Oh yeah, just like you were when I was the one having nightmares, or with mark 42, or when I gave you a beautiful Christmas present…" she frowned.

"Guys" Bruce said a little irritated

"Oh my God, Tony! You are not seriously talking about_ that_ ugly bunny again"

"I accepted it was big, not ugly!"

"Guys!"

"His arms looked like boobs!" Tony opened his mouth, looking outraged.

"You have such a dirty mind!"

"Tony please, we are arguing about the bunny again!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Bruce voice boomed through the lab. They both stopped. Pepper walked closer to Tony and grabbed his hand and he took a little hammer from his desk. "Uhm… I'm sorry" Bruce tried to smile "Everything is ok guys I just needed you to stop because seriously… you are like a couple of kids… And Tony, you may want to put that down, that's not the hammer you _can_ use against the other guy" Tony obeyed "Better"

"I'm so sorry Bruce, I didn't want you to hear this but Tony can be a big pain in the ass when he wants to"

"Hey!"

"I know"

"Get out of my building" Tony retorted to Bruce, then looked Pepper "And I want to break up with you"

"Sure you want" she pulled her hand away from Tony's

"Hey, hey. Don't start again. Let's solve this like adults"

"What?" Both Tony and Pepper said at the same time.

"Just talk… We need to start to work and I won't do this with you both arguing like kids… I don't have the best…temperament you know? " Bruce walked out the lab.

"See what you did? You make the guy who his super power is _being_ angry…angry" Said Tony looking at her.

"Right, because it was just me""

"Fine… maybe I helped a little" he crossed his arms.

"You started!"

"Because you left me alone!"

"Look, I'm sorry, but I'm still afraid. I know you say I can control it and that I don't have to worry, but I do. I couldn't take it if I hurt you. I'm really trying Tony" He exhaled.

"I know. I'm sorry too. But you should have tell me"

"Because it's so easy to have a nice conversation with you" He smiled and they were quiet for a few seconds.

"Thank you Pep"

"Why?"

"Because you never left my side when I was all crazy with nightmares, and working every night, and being a trashy boyfriend" She smiled too and caressed his crossed arms. "I still can't believe you are with me. It was a little shocking to wake up without you… I'm sorry for doing that to you too "

"I love it when we can talk like this" He hugged her as close as he could "And let's forget all that, it's in the past… just like that distasteful bunny" They both laughed.

"I love you Pepper"

"I love you too" She put her hand on the back of his neck to kiss him softly, still in his arms. They stopped when they heard somebody clapping behind them.

"I'm so proud of you both" Mocked Bruce with a smile.

"Haven't you heard that it's not right to listen behind the walls?" Said Tony blushing a little.

"Please, I left you homework. I had to check on you" He grabbed his notes ready to start working again.

"I don't know if The Hulk is the best option to be our counselor... with all the anger issues and stuff…" Tony tried to recover his pride.

"Maybe The Hulk can be a great counselor. Who would have known that the invincible Iron Man was _such_ a romantic?" Bruce mocked and Pepper giggled and for the first time, Tony just didn't know what to say.

"Ok let's get to work" He turned back to the holograms. Bruce and Pepper laughed again. "Jarvis! Get the CAT ready. I need that brain scan now"

"Immediately, sir"

"Get ready honey," Tony said and Pepper went to other of the labs "We'll be with you in a sec!"

"You two are really something"

"That's what I've been told" Tony smiled

"Have you talk to her about the arc reactor?"

"Of course not. I told you it was and option. It's not important now"

"Ok... Remember. Don't do anything stupid"

"Please Bruce, you are the only girlfriend I don't argue with, don't ruin the magic" Bruce giggled.

"We can do a little research though" They both grabbed their notes and walked to meet Pepper.

"I guess, but latter. New thoughts about extremis?"

"A lot… I think we'll need a much more than the CAT. I mean, it may work like a virus, but it's taking place in a very specific area of the brain. We can try to remove it and cure her, but it may have consequences" Tony frowned as they reached the lab, seeing Pepper ready for her scan; she was smiling and lying in the big machine. He shivered.

"We'll discuss that later" He said to Bruce with a serious look, but pulled a big smile for her "Ready gorgeous?"


	12. Chapter 12: The dead end

**A/N: Hello! New chapter. I'm sorry if it has a lot of mistakes but I wrote it on my iPad and it was really uncomfortable haha. Don't forget to review! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 12: The dead end**

They worked all day. Bruce was now with the holograms and Tony was taking notes and working on a computer. Pepper was sitting on a couch looking at them, and a little bored.

"I don't know. I think we need more help" said Bruce.

"What? Why? We are geniuses, we don't need anybody else" Pepper giggled

"Tony, this is not our field of expertise. You are an engineer and I'm a physicist. I think we can do a lot, with it'll be faster if we look for a little help"

"I can't trust anybody with this. We can learn anything we need"

"I met this guy," retorted Bruce taking his glasses off "He is a Biochemist, Henry Pym. He could help us with…"

"Pym particles? I read about him. And no way! That guy is insane, I won't expose Pepper, and neither she'll become subject of weird experiments."

"Tony, maybe he can really help us" Said Pepper.

"Honey, _we_ can help you" he looked Bruce again "Stop being lazy. I've got the extremis virus formula, look" Tony moved his hand on a monitor and passed a chemical structure to Bruce on the holographic projection. "This is extremis on Pepper" He moved his hand again and passed another structure "And this… is stable extremis" Pepper opened her eyes, surprised. Bruce was amazed and Tony smirking and proud. The new structure was bigger and full of symbols and Tony's notes "We _can_ do this"

Bruce sighed, "Ok, we will do this" Pepper walked to Tony. He looked determined, but still exhausted. She kissed him on the cheek.

"I trust you. But don't work so hard" He turned to her with a smile and grabbed her arms.

"This'll be over soon. I promise"

"I know. But don't be a jerk to Bruce" She smiled. Tony was about to retort when she spoke again "I'll get you both something to eat. Don't think that I'll let you starve while you are working to fix me" She walked out of the lab and Bruce spoke.

"I'm impressed," He said working on the holographic extremis. "But what's your plan? And why do we need a stable version of the virus?" Tony joined him and looked around to make sure Pepper wasn't there.

"I've been thinking about what you said. If extremis was intended to allow the body to recover tissue and organs… the brain is not the exception. If we try to make a cure it can be attacked by the virus as it will prevent the brain from loosing any ability"

"Which is where extremis is acting..."

"Exactly. The virus will attack the cure and it can trigger an involuntary episode"

"Like exploding?"

"Maybe. The virus is unstable enough to do that any moment. If it's attacked it will be out of control"

"You're talking like it was an intelligent life form" Bruce put his glasses on again after rubbing his eyes.

"Well. It _behaves_" Tony opened a 3D projection of Pepper's brain and expanded it. "See, this was supposed to be an empty slot, but in Pepper's brain it isn't it works and _it_ behaves" Tony opened on of his notes

"It's pretty much a super soldier serum"

"Just like the gamma program too" Bruce looked at him and Tony continued, "It's just another version, another try. It's hacking the body's repair center and works to enhance any human ability based on a bio-electronic package"

"Nanotech?"

"Billions o graphite nanotubes. That's what glows. They become new body fluids and are send to repair, grow muscular tissue or strengthen bones, articulations, whatever. They can also attack any invaders"

"And since the reaction will occur inside her body…"

"Boom" Tony rubbed his eyes in concern. "And it can happen anyway"

"So. You want us to inject her the stabilized formula?"

"Just in case" Tony said and Bruce started working on the stabilized extremis structure again.

"Right. Since it's extremis, the virus may not attack it"

"Hopefully, and if that happens the new formula could be able to prevent any damage"

"Ok…. But you said it is like a tech virus. What if we try to introduce the cure with the new extremis formula, like a Trojan"

"That's an option" When tony spoke, a red alert appeared on Bruce's projection.

"The virus is stronger with the new formula"

"Damn it!" Tony roared punching the table.

"You said that Maya was able to apply a new dose when the extremis subjects were getting too hot"

"Oh no, I won't try that with the original formula. If something goes wrong that won't protect her, it will explode anyway"

"We can't extract the fluid with surgery since it'll just grow again" Said Bruce trying to think about other possibilities.

"We would need to cut off a portion of the brain and extract the fluid. Without it the brain won't heal" Tony retorted discarding that option and went to the couch.

"It's not that easy, uh?"

"There's always a way out" He said moving his hands nervously, trying to think faster "Jarvis. We'll produce both strains of the virus"

"As you wish, sir"

"What do you want to do with that?"

"We'll work on that Trojan and see what happens in any possible case"

* * *

It was past midnight when Tony went back to the penthouse.

"Jarvis. Where's Pepper?"

"In your room, sir" Tony smiled and walked to his bedroom. She was awake and waiting for him with her _post-Iron Man-mission-kit._

"Clothes off Stark"

"I love when you say that" He removed his shirt and went to his belt.

"That's enough. Come here and sit"

"Yes ma'am" He obeyed "I'm happy you decided to spend the night here. You _did?_...Did you?" She smiled.

"Maybe" She said touching Tony's shoulder "Hurt?"

"A little" He said with a gesture and Pepper grabbed a local analgesic cream and softly applied it on his shoulder, he closed his eyes.

"Don't know if this works, but now feels great"

"You need to see a doctor"

"I have one"

"A medical doctor" she pressed the top of his shoulder.

"Ouuuch…Ouu… You know that's not the kind of pain I like"

"Raise your arm" Tony looked at her "Carefully" He obeyed and groaned a little feeling the pain "You need to take it slow"

"I've been worse than this" She offered Tony a sling "Please…"

"Don't argue with me" He rolled his eyes and took it "You need to rest that arm" He made a grumpy face, making Pepper giggle. She took his face and kissed him softly for a few seconds "Better?" She said against his lips

"Yeah" Tony rested his forehead on hers and toyed with her hair "But not enough" She kissed her back harder with one hand on the back of her neck and the other on her waist, pulling her closer.

Her hand traveled down Tony's chest to find his belt, loosing against her self control for a moment and very turned on with the kiss. Tony grabbed her hair and pulled it to gain access to her neck and kissed it softly, making her moan softly against his ear. Tony roll pushed to make her lay on the bed with him on top and kissed her again, feeling her fingers pulling down his jeans when his hands went under her shirt to feel her skin.

"Tony I need you" she said and bit her lower lip when he pressed his very own statement against her hip with his pants halfway down his legs.

"I need you too baby" he helped her out of her shirt and kissed every inch of skin he found. Pepper gripped his hair and pulled him up for another kiss, then reached down and into his boxers, feeling him groan loudly at her touch. He went to unhook her bra, but she sttoped him.

"Tony...I feel hot"

"Because you are" he reptrted kissing her neck

"I'm serious"

He stopped and lifted his head. Pepper's face and eyes were glowing a little. He frowned.

"What?...Say something!" She fought tears of frustration when he just stared at her "Get out"

"Honey calm down"

"I will calm down, but leave me alone!" she avoided eye contact and tried to push Tony away

"I won't" he tried to grip her wrists "Breathe, you will trigger an episode...Listen!" He was trying to stop her from moving, but she was a lot more stronger.

"I don't care! I just want to be alone!" She pushed him harder, throwing his body againts the wall behind him. "Oh my God! Tony!" She rushed to him.

"Ouch..." he was on the floor, moving his shoulder and feeling more pain.

"I'm so sorry" she said but didn't touch him "Forgive me, please" she gave into tears and was still glowing. Tony put on his pants again and sat on the floor. "Are you hurt?" Of course he was, and mad. "Say something, please" she sobbed.

"I'm sorry... We shoudn't have... You were right. But we can't continue like that" She looked at him.

"Wh...what do you mean?"

"I don't know Pep" she rubbed his eyes "You need to calm down, you can't loose the battle everytime"

"I know, I'm sorry" she sobbed again "I was so scared" he hugged her closer and kissed the top of her head. "You'll fix me soon, right?"

Tony shivered. Their conclussions of the day weren't what he had expected. He was worried. "Yes, I will" he caressed her back "Maybe it's better if I sleep in the guests room"

"What?" She looked up at him.

"Just relax ok?. We can talk tomorrow" she nodded, but felt sad, like it was all her fault. Maybe it was.

"I love you Tony" she said when he left to the other room. She just put her shirt back and tried to sleep.

She coudn't and neither Tony, he felt guilty. As he said they couldn't continue like that, and if he wasn't able to cure her, maybe he would have to do something else. Right now, he just wasn't stronger enough to look at her face and give false hopes.


	13. Chapter 13: The bad news Part 1

**A/N: Hello! I'm back :) I don't know what to think about this chapter, I've been trying to tie another one from the past but the story wants to go wherever it wants hahaha. I hope you enjoy it and write your review. **

**PS: As you may notice, I'm trying to give little hints about what's going on with the rest of the universe and characters, especially since there's a lot of news from Comic Con... What do you think about the name of the Avengers' sequel? Age of Ultron :o. My boyfriend and I are big fans of Marvel comics and we read the big announcement last night... it became the topic of our date night hahaha I'm so excited... but I'll stop bothering you with my thoughts****... let's read :D**

* * *

**Chapter 13: The bad news, Part 1**

"You sure you don't have any plans for New Year?" Said Tony while going trough his notes in the lab, again.

"Oh no, it's ok. You're kind of my only friend right now" Bruce frowned "Which is really sad now that I mention it" Tony giggled

"You know that's not true!"

"One must be very brave to have a friend like me… well, that or…" He looked at tony and pointed at him with his pen "be _you_"

"Hey! I'm the bravest… Thor is a God and Captain traitor is like super strong" Bruce laughed

"You can't blame Steve"

"I know… I like the guy, and that's why it's so not cool that he's working for Shield"

"He needs to find his place" Tony nodded

"Sir, Miss Potts is here" The men looked to the door when she entered.

"Good morning Pepper"

"Hi Bruce" she looked at Tony tilting her head a little "Honey?"

"_Hi_"

"Come here" She reached while looking at him with a smile. Tony doubted but then melted and walked to hug her.

"Good morning gorgeous" He inhaled her scent and kissed her forehead "Ready to work?" He smiled not letting her out of his embrace. They heard Bruce sighing in relieve.

"Oh God, I thought you were going to start fighting again"

"We don't fight. We talk. Like a mature couple" Pepper giggled

"Yeah, that's how we do it"

Tony looked at her while she started to say something to Bruce. They still had to talk about what happened but worst than that he was worried about extremis. After a night with no sleep he came to just one solution. Inject Pepper and himself with the stable strain of the virus. Just in case that they didn't find a cure. At least she would be safe, without any possible explosion and even invulnerable to any other threat now that there were no suits to protect them.

With extremis he could be safe to, and even remove the arc reactor without risks. Maybe he could burn the shrapnel and his body would just regenerate itself. Finally, and even better, she wouldn't have to worry about hurting him. He could live with that.

"I just really need to get this out of my body" Pepper was talking to Bruce.

"Believe me, I know what you're talking about" He replied with a sad smile "We'll do it"

"I know. And thanks Bruce, for helping us"

"Any time"

"Ok… enough talking. Get ready because we'll need some more tests" Tony interrupted.

"What are we doing today?"

"I want to work on your self control" Pepper frowned "Look, while we find the cure, we can make you try to control the episodes, control the powers… you know, just to make you feel better"

"Do you want me to learn how to control the extremis powers?" She concluded.

"Yep" Tony answered pretending to be reading his notes.

"Why?" She took his notebook to make Tony look at her. He swallowed, maybe they were going to need more time than what they have expected"

"It's just to help you with all that stress. You'll feel better if you are in control. I talk from experience" Bruce tried to help Tony, but he was feeling just as guilty and worried.

"Fine. Where?" She decided to play along, but she knew Tony. He was hiding something.

"The gym. We already have the equipment we need in there" Bruce continued and Pepper nodded and walked out the lab. Tony rubbed his face with frustration.

"She knows" Bruce said

"I know. But it's the best we can do for now… Jarvis, is the virus ready?"

"Yes, sir. Shall I start the trials?"

"Please J. And remember, not a word to Pepper. Try the Trojan with both strains and tell me when you have any results"

"As you wish, sir"

* * *

"Jarvis. I know Tony is hiding something" Pepper said when she was alone in the floor for Tony's gym and training after she put on a top and yoga pants.

"Are you asking a question Miss Potts?"

"I'm just saying that if there's something he's hiding concerning my situation it's my right to know it"

"I agree" Jarvis answered and Pepper frowned, like expecting the rest of the answer.

"So…?"

"Are you asking a question Miss Potts?" She sighed.

"May I remind you that I have the same authority as Tony's to ask anything from you?"

"No, you have not. But yet, you have not made any question, Miss Potts" She was about to argue with the AI when Tony and Bruce appeared.

"Ready baby?"

She was usually very patient. Like the only person in the world able to love and handle Tony Stark-kind of patient, but now she was really mad. Bruce was working and Tony was just training her. They spent like a whole hour warming up, and then Tony talked about fighting techniques.

"When you are me, you just smash stuff" Bruce mocked Tony's chatter while putting some sensors on her body.

"Hey, I think that's…uhmm…." Bruce continued, "enou...enough touching there… thaat's right, we don't need more sensors"

"Tony" She complained.

"Fine"

After almost another hour of combat for dummies Pepper was reaching her limits. They were both sweaty and Tony continued instructing her to punch him and avoid his attacks.

"Why are we…why are we doing this?" She said avoiding Tony's right fist.

"What?" He sounded exhausted.

"I know there's something you're not telling me" She tried to kick him like he taught her but Tony avoided it.

"Wow… that was a fast one," He retorted almost out of breath. Then Pepper tried punching him, but he took her wrist and with a quick move was behind her immobilizing her arm. "But think faster"

She pushed him against the strings and he bounced away from her, feeling pain in his shoulder and ribs. She looked angry, and then… there it was, her eyes started glowing. They heard a sound in Bruce's tablet.

"Why are you doing this!" She yelled looking at Bruce and then tony.

"Because you can control it! Breathe Pep… It's just starting, your body temperature is rising with all the exercise, and you're ma-"

"I'm not mad!"

"Forget about me!" He grabbed her arms "Just close your eyes…" She frowned, her body was starting to glow too, but she obeyed "Listen to me… relax, you don't need the powers now, you are not hurt… you're not being attack"

"But I _was_" Tony smiled

"Fair point… but not by an enemy, we're just training, doing a little exercise, looking hot" she fought a giggle and he caressed her arms "Like a normal couple, remember you wanted to do what normal people does?"

"Oh, normal couples punch each other on a ring?"

"Maybe, we do…" Now Pepper finally smiled "See? It's easy, the glow is fading. Take control Pep, you can do it" They heard another sound.

"It's over" Said Bruce while tapping some data of their experiment. Tony hugged and kissed her.

"See? It's over"

"Yeah, I feel fine… but please don't touch me… I'm all sweaty and…" She tried to push him away softly.

"It's all right, you know how much I like it" Tony smirked moving his hands on her waist and Bruce cleared his throat.

"I think I'll just go to the lab and compare some calculations Jarvis did… if it's ok with you guys…" Pepper was just blushing and hiding in Tony's chest "I think I will…"

"You have to stop embarrassing me in front of Bruce" She waited until Bruce was out and then lifted her head.

"He's old enough to know how babies are made" She giggled "Plus… it's not fair, you are so sweaty and sexy… You don't know how much I have fantasized about a training session with you since I saw you kicking Killian's ass" She lifted and eyebrow.

"That's what you fantasize about?" she caressed his cheek and Tony leaned into her touch with a smile.

"Part of it… that's not how it ends, but is the only thing we can do… for now. I swear I won't try anything more….I mean, I wan to… but won't do it" She smiled back.

"Are you mad at me?"

"I believe that's my line"

"I'm really sorry about last night. I should have..." Tony shushed her with a peck.

"I know… Are you mad at me?" He said with a playful smile.

"I am" Tony frowned and retrieved his hands from her body.

"What! I thought we were having one of those conversations"

"And we are… don't overreact…"

"Then why are you mad?"

"First, you are not using the sling… I hurt you" He opened his mouth to complain "Don't even deny it, you are making your hurt-face… that was stupid and-"

"Oh, please!"

"Irresponsible… and… there's something you are not telling me"

"Uhm…" she touched his jawline with her index finger and continued to his neck.

"Tell me…" Pepper insisted with a soft voice while her finger was drawing circles around his arc reactor. He closed his eyes with a sigh and she caressed his tummy with her other hand… "Tony… "

"The cure…" she stopped and he opened his eyes again "We don't have anything yet" Pepper's eyes dimmed and his heart broke at the sight of her losing hope. "It's been just a couple of days, baby… it's not as easy" He hugged her "I'll fix you"

"Don't make promises you can't keep" Her voice was a whisper. No matter how bad things were, he was always honest to her, they had been through everything and he had told her the worst things… there was only one reason Tony was trying to hide this from her… he was loosing hope too. He couldn't answer, he just hugged her with all his strength.


	14. Chapter 14: The bad news Part 2

**A/N: Hello! I'm so happy to post this chapter because I finally found a way to get the story back to where I wanted it :D. The next chapter will be in the past, maybe we'll get to see the Avengers and a little of what happened after New York's battle, I hope you like that too.**

**Thanks for all your reviews, don't forget to comment on this one too. Even if you hate everything I wrote I would love to read it hahaha... I really find very helpful everything you say to continue. Let's read :)**

* * *

**Chapter 14: The bad news Part 2**

Pepper entered the lab. Bruce was alone, working.

"Hey Bruce" He looked up

"Pepper" Bruce nodded. "Where's Tony?"

"In the shower, he really needed that... just like me...I guess, but I need to talk to you first"

Bruce stopped what he was doing on took his glasses off. "Sure, do you need something?"

"I know… I… Tony told me that things are not going well" Bruce frowned.

"Uhmm…. He has to be patient, I mean, he knows things like this are not a work for just a week. Maya Hansen herself took 12 years to make an unstable formula" Pepper looked worried. "Eh, I'm sorry… I didn't mean…that, look, Tony made an stable structure for the formula in just two days, that seriously beat 12 years"

"I know it sounds very hurried, but I know him… his head works at this incredible and annoying speed and I know that if he wanted to hide the bad news... he is really afraid" Bruce stayed quiet "Look, I know it's been just a few days and not 12 years, but I've never seen Tony like that"

"I don't know what to say Pepper"

"I just want you to be honest, tell me what do you think about this"

"I don't know, I've never worked on a project like this. It is true that a bio-virus is not the area of expertise of any of us… Tony wants results so fast…he has to be patient"

"That's not what I asked"

"Uhm… ok, what I _do_ think is… I think we need more time, the virus is unstable, and that's the first problem. Even with the cure you could…"

"Explode?"

"I really hope not, but it's a possibility. That's why it's so important for Tony to make you take control of the episodes. If we use the stable strain on you the virus itself will become stronger, harder to eradicate"

"Hold on! Tony made the stable extremis because he wants to inject me_ that_?" She opened her eyes widely in surprise.

"Well… it's not just like… that. It's an option"

"No, it's not an option! I know that man!"

"Hey! Calm down… he wants you to control it, right? He wants to have that as a last resort, or maybe a possibility for synthetizing a cure. At this point we don't know what to do for sure. We've been brain-storming… Jarvis is making calculations with our options, we have ideas, but as much as the virus can…protect you and regenerate, it will attack the cure"

"So, there's no cure"

"Maybe, but now we're working on tricking it, it works more like a computer virus than a disease"

"So, if you are doing that... why did Tony create the stable extremis?"

"I already told y-"

"I know what you said but…" She looked around, like trying to form ideas in her head "It _is_ Tony"

"What do you…oooh…" Something clicked in Bruce's head.

"What?"

"I think you need to talk to him"

"Why?"

"Maybe he didn't make _that_ for you"

"Oh my God" Pepper frowned "Why would he want to become this?"

"Isn't that obvious? You just don't choose these things, it happens, and when it does, you hate it. But Tony has a reason. He was right… he is the bravest of all of us…"

"And the most stupid!" She sighed in frustration

"He would do anything for you, and for his friends. Remember what he did the last time he was here"

"That man will listen to me!" She crossed her arms and Bruce patted her shoulder.

"Don't be so hard on him"

"You know I can't" she sighed in frustration "Thanks for being his friend Bruce" She kissed him in the cheek.

Pepper walked out the lab, leaving Bruce a little confused. He really liked her, He met her after the Battle in New York and immediately knew she was a very smart and kind woman, just who his friend deserved. He considered her as a friend, a really good person to talk to, he trusted her and never had another thought about their relationship beyond friendship. Until now.

That was a conversation like any other. They both cared about Tony. Many people would consider him selfish, or just a playboy being eccentric, but he knew the kind of hero Tony was. For the first time since _the accident_ he had friends who didn't care about what would happen, not afraid of him and not interested in using (or capturing) him. Tony didn't fear him, not even without a suit.

That's why he felt guilty. He loved Tony and Pepper, but just like his friends. But when she kissed him, he felt something weird, he felt attracted to her for a second. It wasn't something very strong, just like a thought… a very quick one. The weird thing was… when she was gone, he had time to organize his mind and be clear about his feelings.

"Jarvis"

"Yes, Mr Banner?"

"Does extremis have any side effects?"

* * *

Loud AC/DC music was playing in their bedroom when Pepper walked in. He was shaving in the bathroom... with his hair still wet and, thankfully, already dressed.

"Jarvis, turn that thing off" The AI obeyed.

"Respect my music please, it's important for the sacred ritual of being hot for you" He finished on his goatee.

"We need to talk"

She saw Tony closing his eyes through the bathroom mirror, and then he turned.

"You're killing meee… why is that we have to do this talking thing all the time?. Honey… we were a lot more fun than that, remember?" He walked closer to her "Less talking and more…" He looked to the bed. She smiled.

"Oh, I remember. Good times" Pepper said while putting her hands on his chest, and then up to the back of his neck. That approach proved very useful in the gym and many times before, better than arguing with him at least, and more pleasurable too.

"Wha- what do you…want?" He put his hands on her waist "You are wicked woman, Virginia Potts" He closed his eyes when she kissed him softly. He immediately felt the wild impulse to take her just there. It was stronger than ever.

She felt it too. He smelled like soap, after-shave and his characteristic mixture of expensive cologne and motor oil. She knew he had just took a shower, but that manly scent never left him. She was still sweaty and in the same sportswear, which started seeming very inadequate in that moment. She felt his hands in the naked par of her back and then in her arms. Tony pulled her away.

"Wow" He said feeling dizzy.

"The stuff?" She mocked, remembering the first time Tony was affected by the pheromones.

"I guess. But it was a lot more…"

"Stronger, I know… I think it's the…"

"Sweat, right… plus, you look reeeeally smoking hot in that. The ponytail is a nice touch" He smiled "But I made you a promise… Chaste Stark from now on" She giggled, "Hey, hold on… weren't you about to say something?"

She frowned, then remembered "Oh yeah. I believe you are in a good mood"

"Oh… you want to ruin that, don't you?" He tilted his head giving her an incriminatory look, but still smiling.

Pepper didn't answer, but grabbed his hands to sit with him on the bed. "Look, Tony, I love you. And I trust you"

"Nice, me too baby…Uhm…you don't want to break up with me, do you?" He added, still with a playful smile.

"What I want to say is…" She looked him in the eyes, still grabbing his hand. "You have to promise me that you won't do anything stupid" His smile changed into a suspicious look.

"What did exactly Bruce say to you?"

"We talked about you"

He pulled his hands away. "You don't have to talk to him about me. What did he say? Whatever it was… it's just an option. It's not like I will do it…"

"Oh my God, so it's true!" She opened her eyes widely "Tony, are you insane? You can't change into a monster just because of me!"

"I don't want to… hold on… what?" He was confused.

"What?" she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms "what do you think we're talking about?"

Tony hold his air and moved his mouth like trying to say something, but ended up doing weird gestures "oh… ooof course…. The same thing…. you're talking about"

"Oh no, you're not. Spit it out!"

"You go first. You wanted to talk, remember?" He avoided eye contact; she was doing that look like she was trying to read something in his eyes. That made him really nervous.

"Ok… extremis. Why do you have the stable strain?"

Tony exhaled... Busted!. "I never talked to Bruce about that"

"Yeah, but we know how your twisted mind operates" He looked down, busted and sad. Pepper caressed his right shoulder and arm "Talk to me Tony"

He sighed and looked at her again "I guess you already know"

"Maybe, but I want to hear it from you… and I hope it's not what I'm thinking"

"Well… what else could I do?"

"What about being patient? Having faith in yourself, and Bruce? You want me to trust you, but you don't do it" She grabbed his hand again "How could I ever be happy if you do that because of me?"

"It was and idea… I've analyzed many possibilities and everything is a dead end. What if there's no cure?"

"There's always a way out" She retorted and he smiled. "I'm sorry Tony, it's really hard for me and I'm really sorry if I put some kind of pressure on you"

"No honey, you didn't…"

"Please, I know when I'm being a bitch" They both giggled, "Promise me that you won't do anything stupid. We'll be patient. You'll fix me. Have faith Tony, we know how to do that right?" Her hand went up to the back of his neck.

"It's just…" He closed his eyes "I've analyzed many things "I don't want you to suffer because of me. I was stupid and the bad guys got you… they did this to you" He looked angry, clutching his hands into fists "Forgive me Pepper. You're the only thing that matters"

She kissed him softly in the cheek, and then pressed her forehead against his temple. "You already apologized. I don't blame you, forget about that, it comes with the package" she smiled and he moved his face to look at her, confused. "You know, you are more than all I've ever dreamed. And after all this years… I would happily do everything again"

"Everything?" He smiled

"Maybe not the _taking out the girls in the morning-part_. That was awful," they laughed. "You are capable of everything you want to do Tony Stark, you changed the world, you gave it hope, you saved this city, and many lives, everywhere… you can do this" She hugged him

"Thanks"

"You still have a promise to make," She said in his ear with a soft whisper

"I will do it. I'll find another way, I promise. I'll make extremis my bitch," She laughed and broke the embrace "No stupid stuff… No extremis Tony" He lifted his pinky and she laughed again

"Thanks, that's not necessary…" she gave him a peck "Gonna take a shower"

"Nice… want some company?... Kidding!" He lifted his hands when she rolled her eyes. "Will you stay with me tonight?"

"Yes" They both smiled.

When she went to the bathroom he was thankful she didn't remember that he was talking about something else… some other stupid idea. A surgery to extract the arc reactor was just that: a stupid idea. He needed to stay focused, he needed to cure Pepper. She was right, there was always a way out and it wasn't being a coward and trying the easiest one. He needed her, her words and her hope.

The surgery was a really bad idea. There was no way he was going to risk his life and lose her again. But ha had to make another decision though. Better than that, a very important call.

"Jarvis, get me Nick Fury, please"

"Immediately, sir"

* * *

**Don't forget your very appreciated reviews :D**


	15. Chapter 15: The Avengers Part 1

**Chapter 15: The Avengers Part 1**

What happened before felt like seconds, but then… flying into another dimension with the most powerful nuclear bomb used in human story on his back: time stopped. He was scared, more than ever, more than when he was dying from palladium poisoning. He was brave… in a stupid way. He never gave a lot of thought to his actions. He never feared his enemies, but this time, he had someone he didn't want to lose. He regretted being the hero, he wanted to fly back and be alive. Steve's voice sounded in his helmet.

"Stark, you know that's a one-way trip"

"Save the rest for return, J" He was used to say that to his AI, but this time he wasn't sure it was going to happen. Jarvis replied with a voice that made him shiver. He knew the AI didn't have any feelings, but it could process any amount of data, make all the calculations and offer all the options. This time, that voice only offered to call Pepper.

"Sir, shall I try Miss Potts?" He looked at the little picture on the interface of his helmet. He wanted to change it, he suggested to put one of they both kissing. She said that they would do it later.

"Might as well"

That was the moment when time literally stopped. **_"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'll call you next time,"_** he said that night, their first date. He could see Stark Tower just in front of him. He went faster and higher, still looking to her picture. What was she doing? What if the aliens where attacking other cities too? She was supposed to be flying back from Washington, what if she was in the jet and was attacked?

He didn't want to talk to Pepper anyway, what was he supposed to say? It was stupid to promise her to call the next time he was dying. He went through the portal and saw the mother ship. For the first time in his life, he feared his enemy.

Tony looked back to Pepper's image. She was smiling. He checked his oxygen levels when he couldn't breathe and felt the pressure slowly crushing the suit and his body. He saw her vanishing, but managed to push and release the nuke before falling back down. At least he would save her. The big blast made him feel peace. It was over. He could finally close his eyes just regretting one thing.

**_"Don't even think about dying"_**

**_"Tony!"_**

**_"Tooony!"_**

* * *

"Tony Stark's Iron Man has gone through the portal with what looked like a missile…" That was the only thing Pepper could hear before letting scape a few tears, terrified.

"Don't even think about dying" Pepper grabbed the back of the front chair, remembering that stupid conversation they had on their first night together. She didn't care about the sad looks on the faces of her crew.

"Miss Potts" A young girl behind her touched her shoulder. "You… have a missed call" The woman made a pause "It was…" Pepper turned to her with red eyes and took the phone, her hand shaking at the sight of his name. She covered her mouth and tried to hold tears. There was just one explanation to that call: he was really dying. Tony wanted to say goodbye and she didn't answer.

"Iron Man is still there…" Narrated the reporter "We don't have any information about where does that… oh my God! The portal is closing!"

Pepper looked back to the TV "What? Nooooo! Tony!" she couldn't fight her tears anymore "Get out! GET OUT!" she cried and punched the chair in front of her "Get out, please". Her assistants looked at each other, worried but not knowing what to say to their boss.

"The world prays for Iron Man as we have been reported that the invaders are falling down, defeated." The narrator remained silent and with her blurry vision Pepper could read 'the world prays for Iron Man' as the image was set on the closing hole. She stopped breathing when a little spot fell in the last moment.

"Tony!" she looked to her cellphone, waiting for him to call again, but it didn't happen. He was falling too fast, and not flying. "We need to get to New York right now!" she ordered when Tony's figure was lost behind the buildings.

"Miss Potts, the air traffic is probably…"

"I don't care! We go now!"

"Yes, Miss Potts" One of the assistants went to the Pilot's cabin while the reporter continued to talk about the mysterious group of heroes saving the day. The assistant came back.

"Miss Potts, we can't go to New York, we'll have to land in Philadelphia"

"What!, why!" She retorted with a very angry look, but of course she knew why… "Where are we?"

"We will be able to land in about 20 minutes"

"Get me a car, we'll be in New York today no matter what" She was angry, and worried. The news didn't have more information about Tony and they were just speculating about the invaders and the other heroes.

"It could take more than 2 hours, the traffic… "

"I – DON'T – CARE! Just do it!" Pepper retorted while looking for Phil's phone number in her cellphone. When she made the call there was no answer, and with the second try it went straight to voicemail. "Damn it!"

* * *

They found Loki in his living room and soon it was full of shield agents. They developed some kind of handcuff especially for him. Anyway, Thor and The Hulk were closer; they didn't want to take any risk with that maniac. Hawkeye took the opportunity to have a word with the God.

Tony, on the other hand, was trying to see if he could make his helmet work.

"The fight's over, Stark" Natasha approached him.

"Yep… but I need to make a call… " It was useless, the helmet was ruined "Don't you have a super-spy-ish lipstick-phone-thing or something?"

"Oh yeah, but I left it in my flying car" Tony rolled his eyes "Where is she?" Tony looked at her

"Flying back from DC, I guess… I don't know, I don't know is she knows that I'm alive"

"Oh, she knows…" She awkwardly patted Tony's shoulder, trying to be as gentle as she could. "Don't worry, she'll find you" Tony smiled, but then they were interrupted for the fuss behind them. Hawkeye was trying to hit Loki while Steve was retraining him. Natasha rushed to try to calm down her partner.

Soon, agents from Shield escorted Loki out. Thor talked to Fury and most of the rest of the agents left Tony's penthouse with him.

"I'll make arrangements with Selvig. Loki will face Asgardian justice and I swear he will pay for all the damage he caused to Midgard" Thor's voice boomed through the room.

"I thought he was your brother" Natasha asked

"He is, and I hoped to find something to save, but Loki is pure evil, and he deserves nothing but the punishment of Odin"

"Uhm, I'm sorry Game of Thrones, but how do we know that you will not forgive him once you're in Asgard? Plus… he owns me a building"

"This is no Game, Man of Iron." Tony fought a giggle and the rest looked to each other, except for Steve "I respect you as a warrior, and I give you my word, to all of you, that he will face his fate in Asgard"

"Yeah, nice… but what about my building?"

"Stark" Natasha interrupted.

"Fine… Do you think you could calm down for a little bit, big guy?" Tony asker The Hulk and he answered with a loud growl "Whoa…. I'm your friend… Wanna eat something?" Tony looked at the others "Come on, be my guests!"

They looked at each other, Steve sighed, but Clint and Thor looked happy when Tony mentioned food.

* * *

As Tony wished, they went to that Shawarma place when Bruce transformed. The truth was… he wanted to find a phone to finally call Pepper. He didn't have any luck. The lines were down or the phone booths destroyed.

"What is he doing?" Clint asked when Tony was talking to the restaurant's owners.

"He needs a cellphone" Said Natasha with a mouth full of Shawarma.

"What is a cellphone?"

"I've seen those!" Said Steve with an excited expression "People now talk with phones with no cables, they can put them in their pockets"

"Well, you are not wrong" Said Bruce with a Smile.

"Talk with who?" Thor insisted. Anyway, he was more interested in his third shawarma.

"His girlfriend" Nasha said and everybody looked at her

"That guy has a girlfriend?" Steve asked.

"Poor soul" Clint added.

"What? I get it with Steve and Thor… but don't you read the papers?" Natasha asked Bruce and Clint, but then they were interrupted when Tony was back with a sad expression.

They were back in the Tower after Thor and Steve were finally full of food. Tony offered to all his teammates to spend the night at the Tower before Thor's departure, especially since non of them had a place to stay in New York.

"It's nice to have a team of super heroes spending the night"

"We're not super" Said Clint

"Anyway, there's plenty of space here, you deserve a comfy bed tonight, kids" He looked around "uhm… I don't know how to do this, you can make yourselves at home, I should get Jarvis back online in no time so he could help you with everything you need… you can wait here if you want" Tony left the living room.

"Who is Jarvis?" Thor asked

"This should be fun" Natasha smiled looking at Thor and Steve

Tony was gone for a few seconds and went back with a tablet.

"There's no damage. I switched back on the power" He tapped on his tablet "I'll just have to link Jarvis through the Stark satellite" So he did and the room lighted up.

"Welcome home, sir"

Jarvis spoke and both Steve and Thor looked everywhere.

"There's an enchanted presence in the room!" Thor lifted his Hammer, still looking around.

"Relax, hammerhead, he is Jarvis, he's an artifici…."

"It's the spirit of the building" Natasha interrupted, trying to go for the easiest explanation

"The building is alive?" Thor looked confused

"Eh…why not? Let's go with that" Tony said while plugging his headphones to the tablet.

"I don't think that's what it is…" Steve looked confused.

"Sir?" apparently, Jarvis was confused too.

"It's easier that way, J. Please call Pepper" He put on the headphones but it went straight to voice mail. He frowned; Pepper never turned her phone off. He tried again and again with no luck. He was desperate, and pale.

The others were talking until they saw Tony's expression. He was shaking a little.

"Jarvis, try with the server" The AI obeyed, there were 5 messages, all from Pepper.

**_"Tony, it's me, I'm so sorry I didn't answer… I was seeing you in the news. I'm so scared. Please... call me. We are going to land in Philadelphia. I'll take a car. Be safe Tony, please"_**

**_"What is happening Tony? You should be able to hear this with the suit? Where are you? Tell me you are ok" _**He heard how her voice broke**_ "I'll find you, I know you're ok"_**

**_"I'll be in New York in no time. Phil is not answering his phone. I guess you are busy. You're fine right? Please Tony, don't even think about dying. If you can hear this, please call me"_**

**_"Tony…"_**

**_"I'm sorry, I… what I want to say is…" _**He could hear she was crying and right now, he was fighting his own tears**_ "I love you Tony… I'm sorry I didn't say it before. Call me, please… please… I… Tony…."_**

"No, damn it!... J call her again, please"

Everybody was looking at him now. He looked like he was about to start crying. That was weird for the very annoying Tony Stark. In that moment, the elevator door opened to show a barefoot redhead with red eyes looking just where Tony was.

"Tony!" Their eyes met and Tony rushed to her without saying a word.

Everybody was quiet and feeling uncomfortable when Tony embraced her. He buried his face on her neck and she let out a few tears.

"I'm sorry Tony," She sobbed. "I didn't hear my phone… I..." she pulled away from his embrace and took his face on her hands "don't ever, ever, ever do that again" Then she kissed him.

"Oh my god… he actually has a girlfriend" Clint said in a very low voice when Tony and Pepper separated.

Tony looked sad. "I'm sorry Pep" He was caressing her arms "I needed to say-"

"No…" She interrupted him.

"I needed to say I love you Pepper," She sobbed again. Maybe he wasn't going to say goodbye, but that revelation would have been a lot more painful. "I love you too" he smiled "I heard your messages… but I wanted to say it first" She hugged him again.

"Thanks for coming back to me" She kissed him passionately and then talked against his lips "We have 88% of a moment pending, remember?"

Pepper stopped when she heard somebody clearing his throat to her left. She turned to see a group of people in weird clothes and just one familiar face.

"Oh my God" She was blushing, and then looked back to Tony.

"Honey... Meet the guys!"

"I'm… I… am sorry, I didn't know we had company"

"It's fine, Miss Potts. It's nice to see you again" All the avengers stood but Natasha walked closer to Pepper and nodded.

"I may say… it's always a surprise with you, agent Romanoff" Pepper surprised her with a hug.

"Do you guys know each other?" Clint asked

"Long story" Tony, Pepper and Natasha spoke at the same time.

"Okay…" Tony continued "Honey, this is agent Clint Barton, Captain Steve Rogers, Dr Bruce Banner and…. well, Thor"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Stark" said Thor kissing Pepper's hand, she opened her eyes in surprise.

"Oh…wow…look at that" She blushed a little "I'm not Lady Stark, though… My name is Virginia Potts. It's nice to meet you too Th…"

"I'm Thor! Son of Odin and prince of Asgard" The god interrupted her proudly. While everybody was trying not to laugh.

"Steve Rogers, ma'am" The captain shook her hand "Captain America at your service"

"Dude, she's not a soldier" Tony rolled his eyes and she went to shake Bruce's hand

"Nice to meet you Miss Potts"

"I've seen footage from the other but you…"

"Eh… you saw him too" Tony interrupted her.

"Oh!... I'm sorry"

"It's ok… much better this way, believe me" Bruce smiled.

I'm Clint. It's nice to meet the woman who can keep up with this guy" The agent interrupted and shook her hand too.

"Hey!"

"It's really nice to meet you all guys. I suppose Tony invited you to spend to night here, it's the least we can do"

"Of course I did" Tony complained while putting his arm around her waist "I'm a great host. Jarvis is making the arrangements…" He looked back to the avengers "We can show you the apartments, feel free to stay anywhere you want."


	16. Chapter 16: The Avengers Part 2

**A/N: This one took me awhile! It's a bit longer but I really loved it! I hope you enjoy it too. We're going back to the story in the next one, I just wanted to put the Avengers here somewhere and go back to see how Bruce became friends with Tony and Pepper and some other things that I've been writing since the first chapters.**

**This one has a warning too! so +18 :)**

**PS1: Anonymous! hello I missed your reviews haha... I'll cal you just "A" because there are other anonymous readers haha. Thanks for everything again, I'm trying to make this better and, of course, I needed more when I saw The Avengers, so I wrote this chapters. Thanks again for your opinion an ideas, that's very helpful :D**

**PS2: To all my anonymous reviewers... I can't reply but thanks for all your comments you make my day when you write all those nice things :D not that I don't like when you want something done better, that's really helpful because I want you to get the better story. Thanks again! I'll do my best to keep you entertained.**

**Let's read now!**

* * *

**Chapter 16: The Avengers Part 2**

They were finally alone in his bedroom. There were some cracks on the walls and ceiling but the living room took the worst part.

Pepper was in the bathroom, taking her make up off, which was a bad sign since she liked to look as best as she could when they were going to do 'stuff'. Tony always thought it was stupid. He loved her without make up, she looked younger, the blue in her eyes was more intense, if that was possible, and her skin was very soft. The feeling and taste with make up kind of reminded him his old ways, and the parade of shallow women over the years.

Meanwhile, she just wanted to spend time in the bathroom. They were entering a whole new stage in their relationship. After that night on the roof they stared acting like teenagers, hiding from the cameras, not appearing in public places together and not getting enough of each other. Most of their encounters were rushed, even in forbidden places, like her office, or the boardroom and then back at his house they were passionate, insatiable; Tony made her feel younger than ever, crazy and wild. she would have never done all of that with her previous boyfriends and beyond all the physical attraction he made her feel loved, even idolized. She was sure she couldn't be able to live without him anymore and that was intense, and scaring.

Every time Tony flew on a mission she sat on the Ford and waited for him, prayed for him; just like when he was in captivity. Sometimes he came back severely injured, with broken bones and bleeding; every time she helped him out of the suit an rushed to Shield's medical center, it rarely happened… most of the times he just needed her to patch him up, maybe a massage, or maybe some time on the tub…with her.

Then they were caught. The press was really hard on her and Tony exploded more than once against the paparazzi and even on an interview. They faced a lot, including the disapproval from the board; they never said a word, but it was obvious. At least they could go out, travel and enjoy themselves in other activities. That was when Tony asked her to move to New York with him; the press was obsessed with them, and when Stark Tower was ready it was the perfect excuse to leave California. She said yes, and for a few days they enjoyed not being chased all the time. But even after all that and almost two years together… they never talked about love.

"Miss Potts? Do you need a hand in there?" Tony asked and she went back to reality.

"I'm sorry" She walked to the bed, she was wearing one of Tony's shirts.

He smiled "Have I ever told you how outrageously gorgeous you look without make up? I think you know it. Why if not would you spend all that time in front of a mirror? You little vain thing" She smiled too and landed in his arms, he caressed her back

"Says the man who spends half an hour on his hair every morning"

"I'm the face of justice. I have to look good" She lifted her body.

"Which reminds me… shirt off Stark"

Tony Smirked "I thought you would never say it" Pepper giggled as Tony took his t-shirt off. He tried to kiss her but she stopped him.

"Look at you" She ran her right hand through his abs "You're all bruised Tony"

"I'm fine" He tried to get closer again "just need a little love"

"Did Shield provide you a doctor or something?"

"Why? Every part of my body feel perfectly fine… like _every _part" She smiled.

"You are such a jerk" She continued as her palm was over his arc reactor "Is everything ok with this?" she tapped it "What happened up there?" She asked with a very soft and sad voice. Tony covered her hand with his.

"The RT is fine, I checked" His hand went up on her arm "The suit on the other hand… the wormhole was a bridge between our atmosphere and some point in the universe, I don't know… it wasn't designed for _that_. There was no oxygen and the pressure almost crushed it" She held her gaze on his eyes "I think I passed out for a bit" He faked a smile.

Of course Pepper knew when he was troubled, her hand went to his cheek and he leaned in to her contact "What did you see?"

Tony closed his eyes "I can't understand it… I mean I get the math… I know what happened, but you could never imagine seeing something like that… and it was like… just a part of something bigger… we were lucky, but what if it's not over? How could I protect you from something like that?"

Pepper could felt him shiver and tried to sound as strong as she could "Something like what?"

"Such… evil" Tony opened his eyes "There was a big ship and… all that big snake-things… it was an invasion Pepper" He looked up to her "We were six idiots"

"Six heroes"

"Yeah… I guess" He sighed, "I was scared as fuck... I thought I…"

"You can be scared sometimes Tony… you're human"

And that was the problem. He looked down again, avoiding her blue eyes. Pepper could always read when there was more. "I know"

"Yet... you saved us" She took his face in her hands and kissed him softly "You are my hero, and I love you" She felt his smile against her lips

"You said it again" He put her hands around her waist to pull her closer "You _love_ me… Pepper Potts _loves_ Tony Stark" She giggled, "Pepper Potts can't stop thinking about Tony Stark"

"Well, just 12% of my time" Tony smiled and she cuddled against him again "The other 88% I just worry and pray you don't die, like today" she sighed "Don't break my heart Mr. Stark"

"I won't. You know… I didn't call you to say _it _because I thought I was going to die… well I thought I – "

"Tony"

" – Was going to die but I wanted to say _it _because I've known it since I was in Afghanistan… and you have this strange – "

" Tony"

" – Power to make me fight, you always pull me back, you can save me every time and I just wanted to hear _it _from you because I knew that once I heard that I would make it back… to you… I…I'm just rambling here Pep… here's the thing… I didn't want to make you feel bad with that call… I just needed to…"

"Just say it again" She interrupted him.

He smiled "I love you" He saw her face glowing with a big smile, and then she kissed him again.

"Tony Stark _loves_ Pepper Potts…" she teased

"Oh, please"

Pepper laughed and hugged him tightly "You smell"

"Uhm… I have an idea"

* * *

A few minutes later the hot tub was ready. Pepper was wearing her robe and testing the water's temperature. She felt went Tony entered the bathroom.

"I don't know if this is a good idea. Are you sure you feel fi- …Jesus, Tony!" She turned to see her boyfriend in all his naked glory.

"What? Nothing you have not enjoyed before" He saw the pink on her cheeks and smiled.

"You need to rest" She tried not to look _down_ there but Tony walked closer to her.

"All I need" He put his hands on the flaps of her robe "Is your magic touch" He pushed the robe open and slid it down her naked body until it was around her waist, using it to pull her against his body. They never broke eye contact. She was mesmerized by his dark eyes and opened her mouth waiting for him to kiss her.

So he did.

Tony dropped the robe and guided her to the tub. They were kissing in the warm water and he was overwhelmed with joy at the fact that he was alive and in her arms.

"Want a massage?" She said against his lips.

"Always" He said hoarsely as she took a bottle.

"I bought this after your last mission" She rubbed the liquid "Arnica, good for the bruises" he leaned back in the tub as she put her hands on his chest and shoulders.

"Nice… but your hands are better" He closed his eyes and she giggled.

"My hands? What about this?" She leaned to kiss a little bruise on his collarbone. Tony took a deep breath.

"Hot"

Pepper smiled and continued to ease his pain with her touch, just like after many other missions. But this time he almost died and every bruise was caused by fighting against aliens. What else would he do? What if it wasn't over, just like he said before? She touched his face; there were a few cuts on his forehead and his left cheekbone

"What is this?"

"Remember the broken glass panel?"

"Yes?"

"Loki broke it with my face" He smiled.

"Oh God" she caressed his face

"Chicks dig scars" He retorted putting a hand on her back.

"Not this one, I prefer my boyfriend alive" He laughed and she rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Miss Potts… admit that this _broken-hero_ look is your weakness"

"You are" She cut the gap between their bodies and kissed him softly while her hands continued on his biceps and let a few tears out. Tony noticed it and hugged her tightly, feeling her accelerated heartbeat.

She knew Tony was brave and stupid. He might be a 'genius' but he didn't think about any of his actions. Iron Man was the living proof. She remembered all that fear she felt in the plane and was desperate to have him in her arms, to feel that he was alive and safe. Tony went to her neck and her jawline, kissing every inch of skin while she massaged his scalp. Tony bit her ear lobule softly and whispered.

"I adore you"

She moaned and kissed his forehead, temple and cheeks, like trying to erase all his injures.

"Love me" He said against her shoulder

"Yes. Forever" She whimpered when Tony took her legs to place them around his waist. She felt his erection pointing to her belly and as ready as she was for him.

He cupped her breast with his hands as she dug her nails into his shoulder blades and left her body weight on her knees giving his mouth better access. Tony's hands went down to her thighs and the room filled with whimpers and the sound of the water moving.

"You're mine" Tony groaned as he easily slid inside her body, grabbing her hips and trying to hold her still for a second. He swallowed and looked at Pepper's face. Her eyes were darker and she was breathing heavily, licking her own lips but looking at him with nothing but love and desire.

She put her hands on his shoulders and wasn't able to avoid his gaze. Tony made her feel unique, desired and loved. "Yours" She rode him with a very slow pace, closing her eyes at the sensation of their bodies fitting perfectly. She kissed him deeply, digging in his hair "Yours Tony" She cried his name again when he used his hands to help her move faster.

"That's it. We're stuck together" She smiled against his lips and then he buried his face on her neck. "Oh God" He growled against her skin as he was closer to find release. He heard his name in muffled moans and felt her move harder. She held him tightly as he started to move too, thrusting deeper. She tried to arch her back but Tony held her, finally she felt him slid his hand down between them and his touch was the final boost she need for her own climax.

Her body shook in his arms, and he could felt her breathing hotly against his ear when he exploded furiously inside her body. His embrace was tighter and held her when she felt her strength leave her body. He lifted his head to see her blushed face. Her eyes were glowing and her hair all messed up. She smiled at him.

"Best nurse ever," He said with a smirk on his face and not letting her go.

"As always Mr. Stark" She tried to comb his hair with her nails. "But you are still dirty"

He smiled and tried to kiss her again "You too dirty, dirty girl"

She laughed. "I mean… You need a real shower, and then we can get some sleep" He frowned.

"Just like that? Just one round?"

"We'll see" she gave him a peck and walked out the tub "Perv" She added when she caught Tony biting his lower lip and giving her a devilish look. He laughed. "Hurry, or I might get a cold" She said with a seductive smirk and left her robe in the bathroom. she went to their bedroom leaving Tony with a big smile and no memories of his pain

* * *

It was early in the morning when Jarvis woke them up.

"Sir, your guests are waiting for you in the living room"

Tony trembled still half asleep when a soft hand caressed his cheek and then he felt a quick kiss on his lips. Blue eyes were waiting for him to wake up. He smiled.

"Are you ok? You were trembling"

"Of course I'm ok. This gorgeous redhead wore me out last night" They were facing each other and Tony ran his hand trough her body. She was wearing his shirt again. "Slept like a baby" She gave him an inquiring look "Maybe a nightmare or something"

"Ouch… that's my effect on you? Nightmares?" Tony laughed.

"Please" He rolled to be on top of her "_This_ is your effect on me" He pressed the bulge on his boxers against her "Plus... pure happiness" He trapped her wrists over her head and was ready to kiss her when Jarvis spoke again.

"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt your morning activities, but agent Romanoff insisted you have to leave right now"

Pepper laughed when Tony rolled his eyes. He let her arms free and rolled back to his side of the bed.

"Jarvis: New rule, when you see I'm... busy with Miss Potts, please don't interrupt us, not even if the world is on fire"

"Go, my super hero" She smiled "I'm not going anywhere" He kissed her passionately and then went to the bathroom.

* * *

"Why is he taking so long?" Steve asked sounding very irritated.

"You'll get used to it" Natasha replied sitting in the couch.

"Maybe he's busy with his girlfriend" Clink said with a suggestive smirk

"Busy doing what?" Thor asked and everybody looked at him.

Steve sighed. "This is not over until Loki is in Asgard, it's not the time for that"

"Well, they need their space, and this his their home. I think she looked pretty shaken and worried for him" Bruce concluded.

Clint looked at Natasha and interrupted Bruce "That's so not fair. I'm a good guy, nice with girls and everything I have is a cat"

The spy avoided his gaze "I know what you may think about Stark, but he's a good guy. He was the one who made the biggest sacrifice and he saved us" She looked at Steve

"Get it, the jerk with the golden heart" Clint added. "When did you meet his girlfriend?"

"Two years ago"

"Of course! You made the report on Stark. I was busy in New Mexico" Clint smiled and Thor frowned. Steve sighed again.

"Hello kids! You missed me?" Tony entered the room with a big smile and wearing a gray suit.

"Stark! We needed to leave half an hour ago!"

"Easy there cap! You'll get old…oh! sorry…" Clint and Bruce smiled "I thought you were ready!" Tony went to the elevator followed by everyone except Thor who flew through the broken glass in the living room.

* * *

When Loki and Thor were gone all the remaining avengers reunited.

"Guess the party's over" Tony said.

"I really hope we don't do this again" Bruce added and everyone smiled.

"We have to go" Natasha said looking at Clint

"Look at that! Spy-love!" Tony mocked and Natasha almost blushed.

"Actually super-spy-stuff" She smiled and Clint frowned. "I don't want to see your face ever again"

"You know you love me, sweetheart" Tony Smiled and hugged her "Take care agent Romanoff" Then he shook Clint's hand "You too, it was nice to count on normal people. Don't die" He smiled.

"I'm sorry for almost killing you" Said Clint shaking Bruce's hand, then Steve's "Take care guys"

"I have your bag" Natasha said to Bruce and he accompanied her and Clint to their car, leaving Steve and Tony alone.

"You sure you don't want to come back to Stark Tower?" We have plenty of space and… people. You shouldn't be alone, I know I can be annoying and stuff… but Pepper is a nice host, and Bruce is gonna be there" Tony said and Steve smiled.

"I guess agent Romanoff is right. You are a good man Stark, but I need to find my own place. I only know how to be a soldier"

"You'll take Shield's offer" Tony concluded.

"Yes. They need a face for all this mess. And I wear the stars and stripes. I know how to do that too" Steve replied with a sad smile.

"You don't have to…"

"I know. Thanks" He shook Tony's hand "Your father would be so proud of you… take care Stark, take care of the woman you love and everything you have"

"I will" Tony smiled, remembering Yinsen's words once more in his life "You can always pay us a visit, man" Steve nodded.

When everybody was gone Tony and Bruce went back to Stark Tower.

"Ready for candy land, my friend?"

"Are you sure you don't mind if a break your building?" Bruce asked a little nervous.

"Please, I'm Iron Man" Bruce laughed. "You saved my life, you and your friend. You're both heroes. Stop being afraid and let's do science" Tony smiled and Bruce felt just happy. Everybody feared him or wanted him to be a weapon or a prisoner, Tony wanted nothing but his friendship and trusted him. "Anyway… you'll have to start without me, I've got hot date"

* * *

**Don't forget your review :D**


	17. Chapter 17: The panic attack

**A/N: I loved this one too! we're back to our story and in the next one we'll see the first scene from the first chapter again! I think we're half way through this story. I hope you enjoy it until the end. I love to read your opinions and thanks for sticking around :)**

**PS: Thanks A! I was trying to do that I knew that scene was awful haha. I'll try to write better every time this is a little difficult because, as I said since the beginning, english is not my native language so...I'm just trying to improve it. Thanks for your review as always. We'll see a chapter focused on something that happened in Venice very soon, I think you'll like it :)**

**Let's read!**

* * *

**Chapter 17: The panic attack**

Two days passed and Tony was getting impatient again. Jarvis was working on another ideas he and Bruce had but nothing was effective against the simulation of the virus. The good news: They made an antidote to stop the episodes and her training sessions were helping Pepper to control her powers too.

"Last time I gave up… I almost died" Said Tony rubbing his tired eyes "There must be a way"

"We're close" Bruce tried to comfort him.

"Close to what? We can stop the episodes, but she can blow up anyway" He sighed, "I can't fix her"

"Come on, Tony… don't be so hard on yourself. Pepper's on a better mood and she doesn't need you like that"

"I know… but this is going too slow"

"It's been less than a week. Stop being such a drama queen" Tony looked up to him. "What? You're not the only one who can make snarky remarks" Tony Smiled

"That's nice Dr. _I-put-a-bullet-in-my-mouth"_

"Rude" Bruce took his glasses off "I won't give you my Christmas present"

"Christmas was like a million years ago" Tony rolled his eyes and Bruce pulled some documents out of a folder.

"Still" He threw the documents on Tony's desk. "Merry Christmas"

"What is this?" Tony started reading.

"I told you we could do some research"

The documents had information about some Dr. Wu, a Chinese cardiologist and specialized surgeon who had achieved some recognition over his breakthrough procedures on impossible patients. Tony shivered, he had discarded the possibility of extracting the arc reactor, but he had to admit that the doctor's achievements were very impressive.

"He's like a rock star," Bruce mocked. "You could talk to him"

Tony raised an eyebrow "Didn't you say, and I quote: _Do you realize the procedure takes more time than what the shrapnel needs to get to your heart?_. What about that?"

"I still think you would die but I'm not the expert. If it's important for you there's no harm in talking to the doctor"

"What doctor?" Pepper's voice announced her presence in the lab. She had her angry face.

"Play cool" Tony whispered and threw the documents away "Honey!" He smiled.

"Don't act like I didn't hear you" She looked at Bruce "What doctor?" Then looked back to Tony "Are you sick? Is it the RT?" Her voice sounded more severe with every word.

"Baby, It's not what you think" Tony gripped her by her arms "It's just something stupid. I'm not even considering it anymore"

She lifted her eyebrows "_Anymore?" _She talked to Bruce "You! Tell me!"

"Look, Pepper, it's nothing. I-"

"Honey, I swear it's nothing"

"-Don't think this is the best environment for m-"

"Oh no! You won't scare me with that!" She pointed at Bruce with her index finger "Start talking!"

"Great! You'll make the green guy kill us!"

"Oh, shut up, Tony"

"I think you have to talk about this in priv-"

"Now you're leaving me with this!" Tony said to Bruce.

"What do you mean _this_?" Her voice reached higher octaves.

"It's your fault!" Tony continued with exaggerated gestures with his hands. Pepper transferred her angry gaze to Bruce.

"What is your fault? I thought you were the responsible one here!"

"What?"

"Are you encouraging him to do something stupid?"

"No! I have nothing to do with that! He's the one who wants to remove the arc reactor from his chest"

Pepper stopped with her mouth open. They were suddenly quiet for a few seconds until Tony spoke.

"Traitor" He muttered.

"Is that true?" Pepper asked in a lower voice "Isn't it dangerous?" Tony didn't answer "Oh God. That was the thing you thought we were talking about the other night"

She could read Tony like a book. No matter what he said about not considering it anymore… because he was, and he wanted it. She wasn't an expert in medicine but she had seen Tony without the arc reactor for a few seconds. "Do you want to die?"

"Of course not honey. It was just an stupid idea I had after the fight"

"Is it because of me?" She looked down and Tony couldn't answer.

The truth was… after destroying all his suits he thought he needed to do more, offer her a better life. She was perfect and even after all he had changed he was still an asshole and she deserved more than that, she deserved to be safe and not to worry about him every time. The truth was… he thought about closing the last chapter of his life.

"Maybe… I mean…_ for _you"

"So… you want to die for me?"

"I didn't say that. It was just an idea. I don't even know if that's possible"

Bruce was looking at them and feeling uncomfortable but was afraid of moving or making any sound.

"You ok?"

"No, Tony. I'm not okay. There's always something…. " She stopped and exhaled loudly.

"I won't do it"

"You won't do it" She nodded with a low voice and walked out of the lab. Bruce finally moved.

"What was that?" Tony said with a very frustrated voice.

They were interrupted by a green alert on the monitors.

"Sir, we have a successful simulation with the serum A-036"

Tony frowned looking at Bruce and then ran out of the lab. He was in their penthouse in no time, and then rushed to their bedroom when he didn't see Pepper anywhere else.

"Honey! Great news!" He entered but she wasn't there. "Pepper?" He went to the bathroom and the closet. "Jarvis, where's Pepper?"

"Miss Potts left the building 4 minutes ago"

"WHAT?! Why! Why you didn't tell me!"

"You didn't ask, sir. And you ordered that I had to focus on the simulations without interrupting your work"

"OH MY GOD, JARVIS! I swear I'll turn you into a GPS!"

"My apologies, sir"

Tony ignored him and went back to the elevator. It took him forever to get to the first floor. He ignored the security staff and scanned the street. It was the first time in days that he was out of the tower and some people started to recognize him. He felt anxious and looked up to the sky, shivering a little.

A little crowd was piling up around him. He heard his name and tried to move but he didn't know what to do. He started breathing heavily and felt his ankles fail. He was worried about Pepper; she was alone on the street. The last time he left her alone… extremis happened and even if they defeated Killian he still had a lot of enemies. Pepper was a target and there was no suit to protect her. He felt helpless and desperate to find her.

He thought about extremis. She was strong now, she was learning how to fight but what if that was too much for her? What if she had an episode out in the street? Somebody approached him asking for a photo. He tried to search the street again but everything he saw were memories of destruction.

"Oh God" Tony almost cried when he fell to one knee and felt pain in his shoulder and all over his body. Everybody was closer and asking if he was ok. He wanted to run but then hands grabbed his arms.

"Tony!"

He relaxed just hearing her voice and looked up to see her worried face. She helped him up and he growled feeling pain on his shoulder. She was very strong.

"Show's over!" She yelled with a very protective gesture. She looked irritated, which was weird because she was always so nice to people, always with a smile. Soon the security staff was helping her as she carried him back inside the tower. "Oh my God, Tony. Are you ok?"

"Shoulder" He muttered

"Told you. Where's the sling?"

"Sorry baby. Don't be mad at me" He pulled his puppy eyes and she smiled, like always.

"Do you need something, Miss Potts?" One of the guards asked.

"No, thanks. I'll take care of this" They entered the elevator; her left arm was still around his body. "I'm not mad at you Tony"

"Yes you are" He finally recovered his breath and was able to stand without help, but she didn't move her arm. "You left. Don't do that" She smiled.

"I needed some fresh air"

"We have windows," She giggled.

"I don't feel quite good"

Tony frowned "And you wanted to be alone on the street? What happened?"

"You happened. You need to talk to somebody"

"What? I talk to you. I don't need anyone else"

"At least with Bruce. This is just… too much Tony, too much for me"

"I'm not crazy Pepper"

"I know" She sighed, "Stop acting like you are"

"Pepper, please"

"Please what? I love you Tony. I'm not going anywhere, but we need to find some… balance. I saw what happened to you there. This is too much for you too"

"So, what do you want?" He crossed his arms.

"I want you to be happy, and calm, and alive... and with me" She closed her eyes.

"I told you I wouldn't do it"

"That's not the point, Tony!"

"Then what?"

"You're not over New York! You're not over Iron Man! You're not over Killian! You are so insecure… and you're suffering and adding more and more… nobody can do that. You'll get sick, you can't keep up with everything alone. Now you want to risk your life to prove me that you're better. Bur you are already better!" She yelled but he just looked worried "You're all...what?" She stopped when she saw Tony's expression.

"Your eyes…" The elevator door opened.

She frowned and looked at her own hand. It was glowing. Before she could say something Tony grabbed her arm and motioned her to the lab.

* * *

**Don't forget to review :)**


	18. Chapter 18: The visitor

**A/N: I'm back! thanks for your reviews. As always.. I hope you like it! I'm sorry I know everything got a little too dramatic but it'll be over very soon! **

**let's read :)**

**PS /Updated: Forgot to mention that here we'll see the first scene from the first chapter again and don't forget to write your reviews ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 18: The visitor**

"Bruce!" Tony yelled while dragging a very scared Pepper. Bruce wasn't in the lab. "Damn it"

"Tony, what are you doing? Just give me the antidote"

"Just a sec" He dropped her arm and went to his desk to look for the antidote they made for the symptoms. "You sure you can't control this one?"

"No. I feel really bad Tony" She sat on the exam table and leaned back breathing heavily.

Pepper was scared. She felt like she was going to faint and her body was hotter than ever. She was trying to calm down but this episode was stronger than ever. She felt a little dizzy after their training session earlier that day and when she went back to the lab and heard Bruce saying something like Tony was going to die and see a doctor…. she just felt a crazy fit of rage and concern. She hated when Tony was hiding things and the worst part was that he appeared to love it and even more when he was trying to do something stupid. Every time he was doing something suspicious he ended up almost dying… or being a super hero.

So… she just wanted to be far from his non sense for a little, feel normal and surrounded by normal people. She knew he still wanted to be Iron Man and she couldn't blame him, she was proud even thought she really hated when he was risking his life on a mission, it was confusing, stressful and more than anything: painful. Tony was Iron Man, and he would be Iron Man again and trying to deny it would be just something he would regret later; she wasn't able to let his Tony be miserable just for her. Anyway, he was going back to act without thinking and he was hurting himself in the process, just trying to do more when he hadn't healed his previous wounds. That was when she heard a fuss out of the building and ran back with no reason. She just felt something was wrong and when she saw Tony suffering and helpless wanted to attack everybody and protect him, just like that night when Killian was about to kill him and she lost control of her actions.

She felt the needle on the top of her arm and tried to relax but a burning sensation ran through her body. "There's something wrong"

"What do you mean?" Tony's hand was shaking, like if he was dealing with the most fragile creature in the world.

"It's… not like the… ot…ahhhhhhhh!" She cried out in pain grabbing Tony's shirt. She felt like if her skin was being tearing off her body. The burning sensation was unbearable and it felt like hours even if everything happened so fast. With a quick thought she realized there was just one thing to do "GET OUT!" She pushed him against his desk but instead of running he was looking for something. "GET OUT TONY PLEASE!"

"I'm not letting you die Pepper!" He was fighting his own tears and shaking. Pepper was glowing in bright orange and writhing in pain and that image was breaking his heart. He tapped something in the glass monitor.

"Sir, I highly suggest more calculations before applying the seru-"

"Do I look like I have time!" Tony opened a container and took a test tube with a blue liquid in it.

"TONY, PLEASE!... GET…. ahhhhhhh!" She closed her eyes trying to control it.

"Sir, I have to insist. Miss Pott's body is-"

"MUTE!" Tony was next to her in no time and with tears on his eyes. "Don't leave me baby please, hang on" He prepared the syringe with very shaky hands while she was just screaming in pain, not able to speak but trying to push him "You're not dying, you're not dying" He cried and placed the needle close to her heart "I'm so sorry baby, I love you" His voice sounded broken when he pushed the serum into her chest

She arched her back and grabbed Tony's arm with a very loud cry, her body was shaking and the pain was even more intense. She could hear Tony's voice like he was in another dimension.

"Come on Pep… don't leave me… please, not again" Her hand was burning his arm but he didn't care "Pepper, hear my voice…. This will work, I swear… hear my voice honey, stay with me"

And that was the last thing she heard.

* * *

When she woke up there was no pain, no heat and no orange, just a blue light and strong arms around her body. She was cuddled on Tony's lap in a very tight embrace. She tried to move.

"It's ok baby" Tony caressed her back and kissed the top of her head.

"Is she awake?" That was Bruce's voice somewhere behind her. She passed out and now was on the couch with Tony, like if anything happened.

"Tony" She finally lifted her head to see Tony's face, she smiled and touched it with her fingers. "I thought I was going to-"

"Not on my watch" Tony smiled too and moved his head to kiss her fingers.

Pepper detailed his face. There were a few little wrinkles and circles under his eyes. He was staring deeply into her eyes; she knew he just wanted to be sure she was fine. He was smiling but his eyes were terrified and apologizing. She looked down to his mouth and saw his lips trembling.

She placed her hand on the back of his neck and touched his lips with hers in a very soft kiss. "You didn't leave" Tony smiled "I'm mad at you"

"And… she's back" Tony mocked.

"Pepper, how do you feel?"

She remembered Bruce was there and blushed a little. "Fine Bruce, thanks" When she stood up she noticed the big bag of ice attached to Tony's arm and frowned.

"Before you say something, I'm totally fine" Tony stood up too lifting his hands trying to calm her.

"That's your bad arm!"

"It's just the shoul-"

"And now the whole arm" Pepper interrupted him.

"The hand's fine" Tony lifted his eyebrows and tried to smile moving his hand in front of her.

"This is not a joke Tony"

"Pepper, this kind of stress is not good for you" Bruce said.

"Well, tell him" She sighed again "What happened?"

"Want the bad news or the good news?" She sighed and Tony continued "Well… we need the good news first… we had a cure"

"Had?" she frowned and Tony looked at Bruce.

"Pepper… " Bruce helped "… we had a serum and it _was_ supposed to work and attack the virus but we didn't had time to test it"

"The cure?" She muttered with a very low voice. "What about the antidote… for the symptoms"

Tony swallowed and Bruce continued, "This wasn't a symptom" Pepper felt pain again, but this time just in her heart when she looked at Tony and realized that he saved her life. "The antidote triggered the reaction and made it stronger"

"The cure didn't work " Tony snapped with a sigh. "But it shut down the virus"

"Am I going to die?" she whispered

"No, Pepper… you… no… " Bruce continued and looked at Tony "The serum attacked the virus and… let's say it'll take some time to reboot"

"What are you talking about? Am I a weird kind of cyborg or what?

"Honey, relax… Now we have the time that we need while extremis regenerates itself. I got this, I swear. I need more samples of your blood"

"How can you be so calm after what happened? I told you to go. I could have killed you!"

"But didn't happen. Besides… it wasn't you, it was extremis"

"Does that matter!"

"Oh God, here we go again" Bruce muttered while Tony and Pepper where yelling at each other and gesturing with their hands.

"Pep, please! We already talked about this things… like a million-"

"But you seem to not have any concern about your safety!"

"-times, honey we can't do this every time something bad happens!"

"Well, you seem to not learn anything!"

"I couldn't just let you die! … But I learnt that you get unreasonably mad when I try to save your life!"

She frowned and opened her mouth with a very angry expression "This is not unreasonable!" Tony rolled his eyes and took his tablet "Don't ignore me!"

"I just need to work… all this is for you, remember?"

"Oh, now it's my fault!" She crossed her arms.

"Not your fault!... just for you… _for… _You _are_ the recipient of all my attention, but you can't stand that! You ungrateful woman"

"How can you say that? I just worry, I already-"

"Still love you though"

"-told you that I just worry for you! And you still want to…"

"Would you _try_ and _stop_ it for a second, I'm trying to…" He interrupted her with a gesture with his hand and smiled with a sarcastic look and pointed to his tablet

"Oh, please Tony, you can't take this seriously I…"

"…Figure this thing out, but you only yell and keep…

"IT'S ONLY FOR YOUR SAFETY, you idiot"

"Oh my God, just stop!, PLEASE STOP" she stopped talking "Pep, please, we're fighting again" He said with a lower voice.

She calmed down for a little; they both were in silence for a few seconds. And Bruce was sitting on the couch reading a book like if anything was happening and without them even noticing he was still there,

"We were just arguing our different points of-"

"Honey. This has to stop! ... Not good for you and not good for me, remember what you say before" He pulled his puppy eyes looking really sad, and tired… _and _worried. As always, she melted.

"Ok" she sighed "I'm sorry… but most of all because I heard myself and sounded as stubborn as you... you're contagious you know" She looked at Tony, who was getting close to grab her hand and kiss it. She felt a knot in her throat when she saw the ice on his arm and under it… a little hint of red skin

"I'm going to fix you Pep" He caressed her cheek "I swear to God that I'm going to do it, but you can't be like this, it's not fair; always afraid to touch me, to be in the same room. Those assholes could control it, I bet you can do that too, we are so close to find the real cure."

"I've tried Tony, so hard" He hugged her close, she leaned in but then tried to push him "No, please"

"Baby, its ok" He held her tighter "It's over… that won't happen again… You don't have to be afraid of it, maybe that's the problem, and maybe you can't control it because you fear it"

"Oh my God, when did you start to be the stable one in this relationship?" She half giggled half sobbed against his chest.

"Well, you became the hot one, so…oucchh" She punched him softly, but still with extremis strength.

"That is not funny"

"Sir, Director Fury is in the living room and wants to see you" interrupted Jarvis

"I'll be there in a sec J" He sighed, and pepper touched his arm

"What does he want?" Bruce was suddenly very alert and they remembered he was there.

"_I_" Tony answered.

"You what?" Pepper added.

"I need to talk to him about Iron Man, let's say he got a message and is probably freaking out" He kissed her in the forehead and left the lab smiling at her while she leaned back in the chair.

* * *

"My favorite pirate in the whole world!... I mean… spy… sorry" Tony appeared in the living room. Fury was waiting for him in the middle of the room looking very angry "Sorry… are you mad at me? Why is everybody mad if I'm such a good boy?"

"Stark, save it… What the hell do you mean with _I quit the superhero job_?"

"What? When did I say such a thing?" Tony walked to the bar and poured a glass of whisky, Fury was following him with his gaze without a word "Sorry… do you want a drink?... No?... On duty, get it… I will take this one though… I really need this"

"Stark, I'm not in the mood for your tantrums. I was so damn busy and, as usual, I've got to flight across the damn country to solve your crisis"

"Damn…" Tony mocked… "I'm sorry, maybe you got the wrong-" While he was talking the spy took a little device which played his voice message.

_"Hello Nick, miss you… I just wanted to say that… well… I quit the superhero job. We had a lot of fun but we should see other people. See ya!"_

Fury lifted an eyebrow.

"Wow… busted" Tony smiled.

"What do you want?"

"Look, I'm busy… I won't say that I'm quitting… not now… I just need some time out"

"I know what it's happening"

Tony swallowed but tried to put on his best poker face "And what is that exactly?"

"I always have my eye on you Stark… I know about your little fireworks show and all the fun you had with Colonel Rhodes, President Ellis and your girlfriend-"

"Eww.. no! no! That sounds disgusting!... new mental image, new mental image… "

"-And… I know… that you have Banner here, don't treat me like an idiot. You're up to something"

"Look, you don't come into _my_ house and start asking stuff… You said we were free to go and live our lives and I didn't ask for any help when _I_ was fighting an army of freaks so… I will just ask you to go now" Nick giggled and Tony frowned "What is so funny?"

"I'm not here to ask stuff Stark, I'm here to help. Come on… we've been through a lot you can trust-"

"And yet… I don't." Tony interrupted him "The only reason you're here is because you're so worried you won't have Iron Man anymore" Tony spoke a little louder.

"It's not just that. Despite of your very annoying personality… I like you Stark, and I know you've been through a lot… this is just your crazy way to express all that"

"I know" Fury frowned, he was surprised by Tony's answer "I'm working on that… I just need time. I'm not quitting, not yet"

"You have no suits"

"But I'm still Iron Man" They were in silence for a few seconds until the spy spoke again.

"Fine. So… you _are_ fine"

"Of course, crisis avoided… thanks for coming, you can go now" Tony smiled with a very exaggerated gesture.

"Don't do stupid things Stark"

"Already have someone to watch over me" Fury walked to the elevator "Say hello to the guys" The spy nodded and rolled his eyes before leaving the penthouse.

When he was alone he realized how right Pepper was. Most of all when she said he wasn't over Iron Man. Everything they went trough was too much to just move on and act like nothing happened. The last thing he wanted was to drag Pepper into all his madness as she was struggling with her own issues too. He was interrupted when he heard somebody moving towards him.

"Deep thinking?" Pepper asked.

"You should be resting" He retorted when she was in front of him.

"I could say just the same thing"

"Let's do it together" Tony smiled "everything" He kissed her hand. She didn't answer but took the sling out of nowhere and threw it to his face with a smile.


	19. Chapter 19: The good news

**A/N: This is a short one... but with very good news :)... I hope you like it and review, as always.**

**PS: I'm starting a new project at work, it's very exciting! but I'm afraid I'll be a little more busy... so... I won't be able to post new chapters every day but I'm not leaving you my dear readers ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 20: The good news**

Tony entered the lab with a big smile and using the sling on his right arm.

"Good morning my dear friend. Already write your new year resolutions?"

Bruce smiled "I won't ask why are you in such a good mood since you disappeared yesterday in the afternoon and it's 9:30"

"Jealous?" Tony raised an eyebrow and walked to his desk to start working.

"Actually… very happy. I guess Pepper finally talked you into getting some rest" He looked up to Tony "I enjoyed the peace too"

"Well, vacation's over" Tony clapped and rubbed his hands "Pepper told me she gave you new blood samples "What do we have? Jarvis"

"Sir, the serum affected the structure of virus and the strength of the reaction in her body. As it appears it's regenerating but it's at a very vulnerable state. I suggest to make new calculations with serum A-008"

"Hold on J, why didn't A-036 work?"

"The virus was already unstable due to a combination of adrenaline, stress and an alteration in her lateral orbitofrontal frontal cortex" Jarvis spoke while projecting holographic images of Pepper's Brain.

"In Spanish buddy" Tony rolled his eyes but Bruce spoke before the AI.

"She was really angry"

"Indeed, Dr. Banner. The activity on Miss Pott's brain, blood pressure and emotional state in general caused extremis to react. The antidote acted like a catalyst and enhanced the reaction, making the serum A-036 less effective but still able to stop the process" Jarvis continued.

"So A-008 is the Trojan. Would that work now?" Bruce asked.

"Initializing simulations with serum A-008. Sir, I suggest new scans to establish how long will the virus take to regenerate, sir"

"Great idea J" He looked to Bruce "What do you think?"

"I think this may actually work… I mean A-036 was supposed to work…" He was talking when Tony surprised him with a hug.

"Thanks man" He pulled away "Don't ever say that I hugged you. I'll go see Pepper" Tony smiled and left the lab.

When he was in the penthouse he rushed to his bedroom. He left a still asleep Pepper just a few minutes ago. When he entered the big room she was sitting against the headboard and looking worried, he stared talking with his left hand on the air.

"I know you don't like to wake up alone, I'm sorry ho-" He frowned when he realized she was watching TV and heard the news.

_"…Tony Stark was last seen before Christmas when he threatened the global terrorist known as The Mandarin and was presumed dead after a devastating attack to his mansion in Malibu. But even after Stark's triumph he might be in a very critical mental state. After defeating The Mandarin himself the billionaire moved to New York with his long-time partner and CEO of Stark Industries: Virginia Potts but after days without any public apparition, Stark was spotted by a little crowd of people outside his building" _They showed a video with a very confused Tony looking everywhere. The reporter continued her narration_ "When fans tried to approach the hero he suffered from what we just can say was a panic attack and fell to the ground. Stark wasn't even able to stand in front of the people and he had to be saved by Miss Potts when she arrived and helped him to walk back to the tower." _The image went back to the reporter_ "We don't have any statement from Stark of any of his associates but this just leaves us with one question, Is Tony Stark still able to be Iron Man?"_

He looked back to Pepper, her phone was vibrating and she had a laptop next to her. "What are you doing?"

"Right now, ignoring the whole world" Pepper turned the TV off.

"This is not good for you honey. All that stress caused… what happened yesterday. And I'm sorry because I caused the stress in first place but I don't want some stupid reporter to remind you… I mean, we have faced far worse than this… not like I want to remind you of that either... I just-"

"Tony" she interrupted.

"Sorry" She smiled and patted the place next to her on the bed. He obeyed and sat, not knowing what to say, "I'm really sorry Pep" She just smiled and leaned on his chest. Tony wrapped her body with his left arm

"This is not your fault. It's been difficult for both of us"

"Things will get better. I have good news" She pulled away from his embrace to look at him "We have the cure" She frowned "Well, Jarvis is still working on some simulations we I think this will work" She didn't answer, "I know I shouldn't tell you if I'm not sure but I can't stand to see you suffering like that"

She smiled "It's ok, if you think this will work, it will. She caressed his cheek "I happen to have a very smart boyfriend" Tony smiled too.

"Are you ok with that?"

"With what?"

"You know… me… being your boyfriend… I mean… just… _that… _I-I mean… uhm… Don't you want to-"

"Ok, I'll just stop you right there" Pepper was grinning at him when she interrupted. "We talked about this last night, Tony… one step at the time, and that includes our relationship too" He avoided her gaze and looked like a lost puppy. She tried not to giggle biting her lower lip. "You are so cute"

Tony frowned "I'm not cute. I'm a super hero," Now Pepper laughed "You know… forget what I said it was stupid. We need more scans" Tony sighed feeling a little frustrated, he hated to feel that exposed and if Pepper Potts had any super power it was making him feel vulnerable. He blushed a little while she continued laughing but managed to talk again.

"I'm sorry sweetheart" She tried to recover her breath, "I didn't mean to… hey, Tony!" He was trying to get up but she grabbed his arm "Come on. There's nothing I want more than hear those words" She stroked his tummy and continued "Just not now… We'll start fresh… together and you'll find the right moment" She pulled Tony closer to kiss him and he relaxed at her contact.

"Say that you love me" He said against her lips.

"I love you with every fiber of my being" She felt him smile then he pulled away raising and eyebrow.

"You are so cheesy" He mocked trying to recover his pride while he was getting up to go back to the lab "And bring that sweet ass over here, we need more scans" Pepper laughed.

"Is your manhood reestablished?" She followed him but Tony didn't answer.

* * *

"Congratulations, simulation with serum A-008 is successful, sir"

Tony, Pepper and Bruce were in the lab analyzing her new Brain Scans when Jarvis announced the good news, they looked at each other and Pepper smiled throwing herself to Tony's arms. He exhaled feeling relieved like if a big burden was off his back. She hugged Bruce next and then both geniuses shook hands feeling very happy.

Pepper looked at Tony. She was so in love with him, she was proud and happy to know that that man would do anything for her as she would do anything for him. She could be back to normal and then they would have enough time to heal now it was her time to help Tony and be by his side until he was over all his issues. She felt the urge to kiss him. So she did.

She took his face with her hands and kissed him deeply. Tony needed a few seconds to react but then he kissed her with the same passion, feeling dizzy and a little out of control. Bruce cleared his throat behind them and Pepper stopped.

"I'm sorry pal. You know… the pheromones" Tony sighed while staring at her blue eyes.

"Sir, The side effects of the virus are no longer affecting Miss Pott's hormones" Bruce and Pepper giggled.

"Shh, shh!... that's enough Jarvis" Tony interrupted.

"I told you it was love Mr. Stark" Pepper teased and Tony rolled his eyes. "You are so cute" Bruce laughed.


	20. Chapter 20: The New Year

**A/N: Hi! I'm still alive! I'm sorry but as I wrote before I'm working on a new project and it's a lot of work. We're back with a very sweet chapter! it's New Year's Eve! I hope you like it an review it as always. **

* * *

**Chapter 21: The New Year**

Pepper was helping Tony with his tie. They were getting ready to have dinner and celebrate. Jarvis was working on some calculations… just to make sure… but they would apply the serum in the morning. Tony said it would be good luck to start the year without the virus and she was fine with it since Jarvis said extremis could take a week to fully regenerate.

He was wearing a dark grey suit with a black tie and looking as irresistible as always. She hated to see women staring at him every time they went out. Yes, Pepper Potts could be very possessive but it also was an ego boost to know that she was the only woman in the world lucky enough to have Tony Stark's heart and, well… everything else. She bit her lower lip with a smile.

"You're having dirty thoughts," Tony snapped with a smile making Pepper giggle.

"Behave" She finished with his tie. "You sure you want to go out?"

"Aha!... you want to cancel dinner and celebrate here... and by here I mean _there_" He looked at the bed with a quick gesture and then back to her.

"I'm not falling for that this year, honey" She retorted with a grin on her face and then gave him a quick peck. "I rather wait, just to be safe" She put her palms on his chest, staring directly to his eyes.

"Fine, just because your eyes are so beautiful and persuasive" They both smiled.

* * *

Getting out of the Tower wasn't as easy as expected. After Tony's episode the press was camping outside again. Tony decided he was going to drive so Pepper ordered the security staff to help them out of the building. When they were getting to the street the first flashes made Tony tighten his grip on the steering wheel.

"What's wrong with this people? Don't they have families… or a life?" Pepper sighed in frustration when she heard the reporters trying to ask questions.

"It's ok honey, you don't need to be upset because of this" Tony swallowed and tensed when he felt trapped by the little crowd. He stopped the car.

"We can go back, Tony" She put her hand on his leg, trying to calm him down.

"No, no" He breathed, "This is our night… what _normal_ people do, remember?"

"You don't have to do this because of me. They only thing I want is-"

Tony interrupted her "Pepper, pepper…please. I need to do this, I can… _for me_" He smiled and took her hand from his thigh to kiss it. He took another deep breath against her skin and then focused on her eyes while trying to ignore the voices and noises outside. He put on a devilish grin. "Let's give them what they want"

"Wait wha-" She was interrupted for a heated kiss. He put his hand on her neck and pulled her closer. It took her a few seconds to react and a few more to not care about the flashes. When he invaded her mouth she forgot about control and enjoyed the moment. Something in her mind told her Tony needed her to remind him she was just beside him to be stronger. When he stopped Pepper felt a little disoriented and desperately needing air.

She couldn't process the moment when Tony lowered his window and everybody went crazy with questions until Tony spoke, dominating the crowd.

"Come on people, you don't need to camp like this outside my property. I'm trying to enjoy this very special night with this very special woman and you sho-"

"But Mr. Stark… what about your panick-" Some reporter tried to interrupt him. Tony frowned and the young man stopped before making his question.

"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking kid. There's nothing else to say. Happy New Year and please… get out of my way" Tony closed the window and everybody started asking more questions.

Tony managed to get past the Tower and headed for Times Square.

"Are you insane! They will never leave us alone now!" Pepper spoke again.

"Why? Now they know I'm fine"

"Certainly… all that was very _normal Tony_ of you" She retorted and he smiled.

"See? And you liked it" Pepper let a little smile escape "Ha! I love making angry Pepper smile" She shook her head and then looked at him.

"No more spectacles" She lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Fine Miss Potts. But just because a live to please you"

"Eyes on the street" He obeyed "And we are releasing a statement" Tony didn't answer "Where are we going?"

"Times Square" He smiled.

"What?... it's like the worst place to be right now!... Oh God, Tony" She was going to continue but he interrupted her.

"Honey, relax!... There's this nice restaurant… great view, and it's just for us"

She crossed her arms "Say you didn't buy it" She looked at him again.

Tony avoided her gaze faking being very focused on the road "Well… it was a great deal, plus… it's a very good time to invest-"

"We have talked about this, Tony!... is that what you think normal people do?" She sighed, "I can't leave you alone for a second! I'll just have to hire a nanny for you"

"Better idea! You be my nanny"

"Oh, I _am_ your nanny. I just don't have time anymore… or patience to keep doing it"

Tony kept talking, ignoring her answer "Oh yeah, I'm a bad, bad boy… and you are my super hot nanny" He smiled.

"Tony I'm talking!"

"Yes nanny?" She rolled her eyes "Have I told you that I had a nanny until I was 14?"

"So bad you didn't keep her a little more"

"I could tell you that story"

"Oh…I think I don't want to hear that"

"Come on, you know almost everything abut me"

"And I wish I don't" Tony laughed at her comment "Believe me, it hunts me at night"

"But you are still with me" He mocked

"Because you are handsome and rich," She teased

"Am I you sugar daddy?" He smiled "Sorry, but I'm way too young"

"And way too annoying. Seriously Tony, it's not sexy to tell your girlfriend some perverted story with your nanny"

"How do you know it is a dirty story?"

"Because it is _you…_"

"Well, whatever… Just want one dirty nanny right now"

"You'll have to settle with Bruce for now" Tony laughed again.

* * *

They were sitting on their table next to each other, just in front of a huge glass window panel and with a great view to Times Square and the streets where everybody was celebrating.

"I have to admit, this is really nice" Pepper was contemplating the very little people on the street, far from them but it was a beautiful spectacle full of lights and colors.

"Told you. Only the best for my girl"

They were finishing with their food. The place was beautiful and very tasteful… _very Tony, _she thought with a smile. They enjoyed the night just talking and laughing like if they were any normal couple. They forgot about all the pain and for the first time in months she was happy to see Tony relaxed. She saw him calling for the waiter.

"Yes Mr. Stark?"

"We can have the dessert now, please… and then you can go. Go celebrate"

"Mr. Stark, we are here for the whole night"

"Yeah, I know… but I'm the new boss. We're fine here"

"Thank you Mr. Stark" Tony nodded and the man left.

"That was really nice" Pepper smiled.

"Well, it's almost midnight. And it is an special day"

She caressed his cheek and he moved his head to be able to kiss her hand. "I love you Miss Potts"

"I love you Mr. Stark" She smiled.

The waiter brought the dessert and another wine bottle before leaving with the rest of the crew.

"You know… we never got to celebrate Christmas" Pepper spoke again.

Tony was very focused on his crème brûlée, but he stopped to lift his head and look at her.

"That's why this had to be special"

"And it is, but I have something for you"

"You got me a present?" He asked with his eyes glowing, looking like a kid waiting for a surprise. She melted every time he looked at her like that because she know she was the only person who was able to pull that sweet smile out of him.

"Actually… I made it, don't laugh" She blushed a little.

"Is it something you're wearing?" He teased.

"Tony"

"Worth the shot, sorry" He smiled as she was searching in her purse. She took a little crochet bunny in red and yellow, as if he was wearing a suit.

"Oh my God! He's an Iron Bunny!" Tony smiled

"Since you appear to love bunnies and we lost the other one I thought you would like this" She blushed a little "It's _little_, and has his own suit"

"It's perfect" Tony took it and squeezed it with his hand "Did you do this? When? How? Do you know how to do this?"

"Everybody needs a hobby. And I had a lot of free time this week"

"Love it" He played with the little bunny "Best gift ever" She smiled too "That's what you say when you get a gift by the way" Pepper rolled her eyes with a smile "I'm sorry I don't have anything for you, honey"

"Besides buying a restaurant for a night out?" She mocked.

"I mean, like something cool… cooler… something special"

"You are my something special" She gave him a soft kiss "This year is going to be better, I know"

"Hey… speaking of which… I have something to show you" He smiled.

"Oh" She was surprised "Show me… unless it's your Iron Man underwear, I already saw it in the drawer"

Tony giggled "Damn it… that was a surprise for other moment" He took a piece of paper out of his pocket "Well… I'm sorry to disappoint you but it's just my New Year's resolutions" He smiled

"This should be fun" She leaned to be a little closer and Tony started reading.

"First of all… having more sex with Pepper"

"You said that last year"

"And it worked" He winked at her and continued, "A man can dream" She giggled.

"Ok, I'll think about it" She caressed his arm and then looked at the crumpled piece of paper "keep going"

"We're going to Venice again, this time together… I mean… as couple… I mean… as a real couple, and without any horrible incidents… it's gonna be great" He put his hand over hers, still caressing his left arm.

"I enjoyed our last visit" She smiled but Tony continued.

"I'm not letting Pepper alone, or putting her at risk because I'm such an irresponsible asshole"

"I don't like that one... not the last part"

"You will love it when you hear the last one" He continued reading, "I will accept that I'm not over everything that have happened and I'll work on that. Not for Pepper, but for me" He lifted his head to look at her

"I'm proud of you. I know we can be back to normal… not like normal people, just _us_ normal… I loved it that way"

"So… _us_ normal includes something else… I don't think I'm ready to stop being Iron Man" She looked directly into her eyes but she didn't answer "I'm sorry honey but that's who I am, I know you can understand I mean, you are my family, the only one who really knows me. I mean... if you don't understand who will?"

"You don't have to explain anything Tony. I'm proud of you and I knew you were going to do it again. I just wanted you to accept it... and maybe slowing down a little" She smiled "I love you with all the metal in your life"

"Well… that's nice, but you may be seeing a little less metal" She frowned and he went back to the list, trying to avoid her inquiring gaze "I'm taking the arc reactor out"

Pepper shivered and finally pulled her hand away from his arm. She frowned and opened her mouth to speak but was distracted for a second when the Times Square's ball dropped announcing the New Year along with people screaming and celebrating on the street. They didn't hear much noise at the floor they were but that little moment was enough for Tony to catch her off guard and pressed a hard kiss on her lips.

"Happy New Year, love of my life" Tony muttered against her lips and she finally put her arms around his neck to return the kiss

* * *

**Don't forget to review ;) I'm adding a picture for you to see the Iron Bunny, I found it by accident and thought it was so cute so I put him n the story. He doesn't belong to me and it's just a picture I found on google. You will have to put the link in one line to see it ;)**

.

tumblr.

com/9341d643af62db3457

c67b6fe1c1daf2

/tumblr_mltih8qJS

c1qi66mto1_500

.jpg


	21. Chapter 21: The cure part 1

**A/N: Hello! sorry again.. lots of work... and I'm so tired haha... I'm sorry if I made a lot of mistakes here. This was supposed to be in the past and in Venice, but I can't get that chapter right so I'll continue with the story. I read some Comic books and took a few ideas about extremis so... something you'll read here is an actual reaction that the virus can cause. Enjoy this! I think it's a very good one! I guess I'll be posting another on wednesday :) Thanks for sticking around and all your reviews... but i can't get enough hahaha**

**PS For A: thanks for your reviews as always! I'm surprised you didn't say something about Tony saying they were going to Venice like a real couple! hahaha... I'm trying to do something good with that chapter ;)**

**PS For everybody: Thank you for all your good wishes on my new project! As I said on my profile I work as a screenwriter and we pitched an idea for a tv show and we got green light! it's huge! I'm so happy with this that i had to share it :D thank you again ;) but enough about me... I'll bore you haha... let's read :)**

* * *

**Chapter 21: The Cure, part 1**

"You can't ignore me for the rest of the year" Tony said when they were finally inside the building.

"Unfortunately no, but I can now" She moved to open the door. Tony rushed out of the car but when he reached her door she was already out.

"Why did you… uhm… Pep, please" She walked to the elevator and Tony followed her "You have to understand"

"I understand Tony" She sighed while pressing the button to call the elevator "You say something but do the opposite. It's frustrating"

"Oh God, woman! Why are you so complicated?"

"Excuse me? Didn't you hear what I have just said?"

"Honey, you need to listen first. I'm not doing this because it sounds cool. It's possible, and it's safe" He pleaded making exaggerated gestures with his hands. Pepper finally looked at him, frowning and shaking her head a little.

"I can't believe this"

"I _can't_ believe _you_ can't believe me! This" he gestured between them "is not a supportive relationship"

"Well, this" she imitated his gesture "won't be anything at all if you just insist on killing yourself!" The elevator door opened and they entered.

Tony frowned and moved his head back a little "Wow… time out"

"This is not a game Tony" She sighed

"I know… and that's why I don't like it when you say something like that… do you want to break up with me?" He swallowed and tried not to move and look cool, but he was terrified. He wasn't expecting her to say yes, but just asking that question made him shiver a little.

"Stop overreacting" She retorted as fast as he stopped asking his stupid question. She was mad but still able to see he was nervous and waiting for her answer "Tony-"

"I love you baby. I swear I know what I'm doing" He interrupted her and she couldn't fight a smile.

"I'm sorry Tony. I didn't mean to say that" She hugged him "Let's talk about it… later, not today. We have a lot to do"

"It's ok" he caressed her back "What kind of girlfriend you would be if you weren't a wreck?"

"I'm not a wreck" she said against his chest and Tony laughed. When she pulled back one of her hands reached the light glow of the RT under his shirt, she was staring at it. "Just don't die" she tapped the reactor with her index finger and tried to smile. She knew Tony was a little ashamed of it at first when they started their relationship but she liked to see the blue glow at night, it reminded her that Tony was alive and safe. She was already missing it. The elevator door opened when they reached the penthouse.

"That's my girl" Tony caressed Pepper's cheek "You look so beautiful when you are all grumpy" Pepper giggled "Come on" He took her hand when they walked out the elevator "Today's a big day for us and you need a lot of rest and a handsome boyfriend next to you"

"You know…that's my resolution for this year" She said when they entered their bedroom.

"Resting a lot?" Tony smiled.

Pepper rolled her eyes with a grin "Yes honey, resting…" She grabbed his flaps and pulled him closer for a kiss.

* * *

"Good Morning, masters. It's 8am. The weather in New York is 33 degrees"

Tony opened his eyes feeling a little anxious, like if it was his first day of school or something like that. He was facing a tangle of red hair in front of his face; his left arm and leg were wrapped around her body and he enjoyed being like that for a second. Thanks to Pepper he discovered how much he liked that closeness. He used to hate the idea of waking up with a girl invading his personal space, but with Pepper he just wanted to be as close as he could and inhale her sweet scent in the morning. When he leaned to kiss her neck Pepper moved.

"Tony" She sighed, still half asleep.

"Good morning, gorgeous. Ready to be fixed?" She rolled wanting to face him, her hand reached his cheek.

"Good morning love" she smiled "This is a nice way to start a new year"

"Well… when you are extremis-free we could think of something even nicer" Tony closed his eyes as his hand wandered under her pajama shirt. Pepper closed her eyes too when Tony's hand reached her breast.

"Tony" She grabbed his arm but didn't try to stop him.

His hand went down again and stopped around her waist "I miss you so much" He said hoarsely.

"I can tell" She rolled to be on top of him and pressed her body against Tony's. She gave him a very soft kiss. "But that's enough" Tony smiled.

"I'm hurt Pepper. Is a kiss enough for you?" She giggled and leaned to barely touch his lips

"I'll show you how much is enough… later" She kissed him again and then jumped out of the bed.

"That was really hot" Tony sat on the bed as she was going to the bathroom to take a shower "You're killing me Miss Potts!"

* * *

Tony took a shower after her and they were ready in no time. When they arrived at the lab Bruce was setting everything ready.

"Happy new year big guy!" Tony smiled while Pepper was hugging Bruce and telling him the same thing.

"Thanks guys… how was your date?"

"Bad, then good, then perfect, then awful and then reaaaally nice" Tony replied while he started tapping on a glass monitor.

"That's good… I guess"

"What about you? I'm sorry we left you alone but Tony insisted-"

"It's ok, my green friend doesn't like crowds… or New York and I was really tired"

"Ok, enough of poor little Bruce. I'm buying an island for you after this but now… please get started… I need my girl back. Jarvis!"

"Everything is ready, sir"

Pepper rolled her eyes and Bruce smiled. She sat on the examination table and Tony took a bag with other blue liquid labeled as A-008. Bruce helped her to lean back and attached some sensors to her head, arms and chest.

"It's ok Pepper, this will hurt a little" Bruce spoke and then she felt a big needle on her elbow crease, then Tony came closer.

"Honey, this _will_ hurt, not like the last time but it will. Are you ok with that?" Tony stroked her hair; Pepper nodded feeling a little nervous, the last time was the worst torture she had ever experienced but it had to be done it wasn't easy for Tony and Bruce… and now was her turn, just one more step.

"I'm fine Tony. Just do it… I can take it"

"Don't worry baby. I got you" He grabbed her hand and then kissed it.

"I got you first, like a million times" They both smiled and Tony passed the serum to Bruce, who connected it to her arm through the needle and hung the bag next to her. The blue substance moved slowly inside her body. A monitor showed her heart rate accelerating and her grip on Tony's hand tightened.

"You ok?" Tony asked but she just growled in pain. Maybe it wasn't as bad as her last episode, but it was pretty bad, she felt the burning sensation again and a terrible headache.

"Tony" Pepper closed her eyes and tried to hold up.

"It's ok baby, I'm here" He looked at Bruce "This is too fast"

"It's ok Tony" Bruce took a little wet towel and touched her forehead with it "She can handle it"

"Jarvis!" Tony ignored him "Give me something buddy"

"Sir, Miss Potts is accepting the serum. Everything is working as expected. Her body temperature is 39 degrees Celsius and her heart rate is elevated but still on the safe limit. Side effects of the treatment might include headaches, fever and dizziness"

"Thanks J, keep me posted"

After a few minutes she calmed down a little, stopped shivering and relaxed. Tony never let her hand go and now he was applying water to her forehead and lips with the towel. Sometimes she opened her eyes and smiled at him but he knew she was trying to make him feel better.

"Everything is working. You should relax"

"I know it's working… I was directly involved. But she's in pain, I can't take that" Tony kissed her hand again, Pepper was almost unconscious but frowning and moving her head a little, like if she was having a nightmare. Bruce patted Tony's shoulder.

"You know, Natasha was the one who told us you had a girlfriend… and I remember we couldn't believe it… I mean, Steve was like: _that guy has a girlfriend?" _He smiled "And when I saw you and Pepper I realized we were right… you are not the kind of guy who has a girlfriend, not _any _woman… It's just you and Pepper, there's no match for the connection you both share and you deserve to best. She'll be fine after this"

"I know. Thanks. I just… I wasted so much time doc… years"

"You didn't" Bruce went back to his desk to check on her vitals and Tony touched her face with the wet towel again, trying to be as careful as he could.

"Bruce... the extremis… don't you think it could help you?"

"Or it could make a bigger mess"

"Maybe we could-"

Bruce interrupted him "Destroy it, Tony. This is huge… I mean, this could change the world but it's just as dangerous. They've tried so many times… with Steve, with gamma rays, they will do it again, but we won't start it"

"Agreed"

Pepper moaned and started breathing heavily, surprising Tony "What is it? J?"

"Sir, her heart rate is accelerating again"

"Pep? You hear me?"

And then she opened her eyes "Tony" She grabbed his shirt and tried to sit "Dizzy… I"

"What! Pepper!"

Bruce tried to look for something weird on the monitors but she appeared to be fine. On the other hand, Pepper was screaming and trying to turn her head to the floor.

"Pepper talk to me!"

She didn't answer. She put a hand on her throat and then threw up on the floor. Tony jumped out of his seat and tried to help her, but his eyes opened widely when he looked at the floor.

"What the hell is that!"

"Tony" she cried when he opened her eyes and saw the black slime too. She couldn't move and Tony was just terrified. There were a few hints of blood too. The only thing he could do was pulling her closer and hug her.

"It's ok"

"It hurt" She cried against his chest and he looked at Bruce, he was as shocked and trying to see if there was something wrong with her.

Tony couldn't say anything else.


	22. Chapter 22: The cure Part 2

**A/N: I'm back! and I'm so sorry... Life happened :/ but I'm back! and I will post today and tomorrow. I'm sorry, I know I said I would post last wednesday but it was a tough week. I hope you like this one! we are going to see some happy moments, finally!... but even if Extremis is no longer the problem the story is not over. We'll read all about Tony's surgery, Iron Man and some other things from the past!. Don't forget to review and see you tomorrow! :D**

**PS: A! hello! I'm sorry i disappeared haha. I'm working on Venice, I really want to make that one a good one. Here we'll start reading good news and moving forward to a new thing! hope you like it too! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 22: The cure, part 2**

Pepper was trying to put attention but she couldn't. Her throat burned and her mouth tasted like oxide… or metal… even blood. It was confusing and uncomfortable. She felt very week and dizzy and Tony was yelling at Bruce and Jarvis while walking all over the lab. She heard the steps and a lot of different sounds but couldn't process it.

"I don't fucking care about the numbers! I have eyes I and I can see what is happening to Pepper! Don't you? We need to stop this right now"

"Sir, the symptoms are completely-"

"Shut up Jarvis!" Tony walked to Bruce "Say something! It's been two hours and she's not getting better!" He took Bruce by his shirt "Do something" Tony shook him and Bruce frowned, grabbing Tony's wrists.

"Please don't do that," The physicist said in a lower voice "Think about Pepper"

"Tony" A very soft voice echoed behind him and all the strength and tension left his body. Tony walked to Pepper and stroked her sweaty cheek.

"It's ok baby, I'm here" He turned his head to gaze at Bruce "She's hot again"

"It's a normal fever" Bruce cheeked Pepper's body temperature on a monitor

"A normal fever?" Tony's voice sounded angry and broken. He was about to speak again when Jarvis interrupted.

"Sir, the analysis of the black substance is complete"

"What is it?" Tony took Pepper's hand while she was trying to be awake and hear the answer.

"I identified glycoproteins, immunoglobulin, lipids, blood cells and decomposed biomaterials. Miss Potts is going through a detoxification state and her body is eliminating the virus naturally, causing symptoms as the fever, dizziness, somnolence or vomiting. I suggest a lot of fluids and rest"

"Gotta be kidding me" Tony frowned "What about the blood?"

"The reaction is aggressive and it has hurt the internal tissue of her trachea and respiratory system; but there is no bleeding or any affected organs. The Brain activity is normal but she will experience fatigue while her body gets used to the change"

Pepper smiled with her last strength "You did it" She said almost in a whisper while Tony was still a little shocked.

"Congratulations sir. The process was successful"

Tony closed his eyes and exhaled. He felt exhausted and fell to his knees next to the examination table. Pepper finally gave up and closed her eyes to sleep. Tony relaxed and smiled while grabbing her hand and hearing her slow and steady breathing. It wasn't easy to acknowledge the fact that the pain was over and she was cured. He felt joy, relief and sadness. His body was giving up to the pain and his mind remembering everything they had been through.

He leaned his forehead on her left arm and felt her skin against his, still a little hot, but safe and soon… back to normal. Just a little more than a week had passed but he felt like he was going to lose her a million times. Years ago he had the courage to tell her that he didn't have anyone but her; it was true back then, it was true now and it'll be the only truth for the rest of his life, a life he was able to live just because he had her love. He felt a hand touching his shoulder and then patting his back.

"It's over" Bruce said with a smile, he looked exhausted too.

Tony stood and smiled "Thanks man, and… sorry… for-" He tried to fought tears. He was tired, worried and little shocked.

"It's ok, I understand"

"Definitely buying an island for you, a country if you want" Tony mocked, tried to avoid Bruce's gaze and hide his watery eyes.

Bruce giggled "I just need a bed right now. We all need to rest. I think we can move her to your room. She'll be fine"

Tony nodded and looked back at her feeling peace again. She was asleep but looked relaxed too. He smiled, as soon as she could move she would ask for her laptop and the company, he missed his Pepper so much and this was his opportunity to make things better.

* * *

Pepper woke up feeling very weak and thirsty. When she opened her eyes saw a familiar ceiling and, immediately, an even more familiar scent filled her nostrils. Every sensation was very intense. She was trying to get used to her strength but it was a little hard to move, as if her body would have been rebooted and she was learning to use it again.

"Sir, Miss Potts is awake"

Pepper recognized Jarvis and remembered she was in New York, the Stark Tower, Killian, Extremis, Bruce and even more important: Tony. She felt relieved to have all her memories and her body was starting to respond. She was going to be fine, but needed one more thing to feel completely happy. He appeared in front of her eyes with a big smile.

"Hello sleeping beauty. Did you miss your knight in shining armor?" Pepper analyzed his face. Tony looked relieved and his eyes were brighter than ever. He had a big smile on his face, still visible tired but happy. She turned her head to the left to have a better view of him and tried to talk but her throat hurt a lot. She closed her eyes feeling a little frustrated when she couldn't even say his name.

"Pep?" Tony continued and felt his heart shrink with worry.

Pepper tried harder and managed to move her hand to her throat "Hurt"

"Oh… want something? Water?" Pepper nodded and Tony reached for something on her nightstand. With his right hand he helped her to lift her head and with the other he put a glass of water against her lips. "Better?"

"Better" Pepper replied hoarsely. "Sleep" She smiled and Tony put the glass back on its place "Both" She knew he was working on something. He had that guilty face.

"Already bossing me around, Miss Potts?" Tony mocked but obeyed. "Can't argue with that tough"

Pepper felt him cuddle next to her. His strong arm pulled her closer and rested over her waist. She wondered what day it was but didn't care much. Even without extremis powers she felt safer than ever.

Tony, on the other hand, was a little nervous. He wanted to be sure she was ok. Three days had passed and the fever and vomit stopped but she was unconscious most of the time. He never left her side and spent the time working on her laptop, talking to the board members and trying to make excuses. And keep everything running so she wouldn't freak out when she was fully awake.

* * *

She woke up again, this time she felt different. It was dark and she was sleeping on her side, facing Tony. She felt a little more conscious than the last time… She couldn't be sure if it was the same day but Tony was sleeping next to her. He was wearing his sling and there, just between them, the iron bunny was proudly standing against the headboard. She smiled and moved her right arm to touch him.

He woke up at her contact and felt a little confused. It was dark and he remembered it was early in the morning when he lay down.

"Sorry" she said in a very low voice. She swallowed. Her throat still hurt but she felt better; her body was heavy but she could move.

Tony kissed her hand and forgot about his concerns. "Nothing better than waking up to such gorgeousness" Pepper laughed, "I see you are feeling better. Touching your sleepy man and stuff"

"My man" She smiled.

"Yep, your property. You can tattoo your name in my butt if you want" She rolled a little and laughed against her pillow.

"Don't… " She cleared her throat "laughing hurt" She stopped, blushing a little and still smiling.

"So… that's not the best medicine after all. Disappointing. What about food? I'm pretty sure my third suggestion is not an option right now so… can you eat?"

Pepper shook her head and tried to sit up.

"Easy there" He helped her until she was leaning against the headboard. "So… something to eat?

"Stark…"

"Naughty… but I don't think we should-"

"… Industries" She decided to ignore Tony and pointed at her laptop on the table.

"Oh no, no, no, no…" Tony took her arm and put it down "No work for you"

"What day?" She frowned

"Don't worry about that. I've been doing your homework. The company is fine"

"Tony"

"You can't win this one baby. You can't talk, which is a blessing, and you're not getting out of this bed"

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes "Hate you"

"I'll find something you can eat and you'll behave while I'm gone" Tony walked to the table and grabbed Pepper's laptop "Sorry, no tech for you. Besides, you won't like what you will see here" Tony rushed out of the room and Pepper rolled her eyes.

She was hungry and it wasn't a bad idea to eat something and she would have to try another strategy if she wanted to see what Tony had been doing with the company and with his own crazy ideas.


	23. Chapter 23: The first kiss

**A/N: Well, here I am with another chapter. We're going back to the past again. I didn't do it before because I didn't want to interrupt the cure process, but now we have a little time to let Pepper rest and heal haha... You know I wanted to do something with Venice and Tony's reference from IM2... I've been mentioning it here too, but as you'll se... we start in Nice. So, be patient and I hope you enjoy the next two chapters until we get back to our story. Feel free to tell me if you hate it and I wont do it again haha... Let's read now :)**

* * *

**Chapter 23: The first kiss**

It was just another party. Another pretentious, expensive and decadent party, maybe this was worse than the others before. For some reason, Tony decided to celebrate the fact that Stark Industries was 'going green' and using clean energy from Howard Stark's arc reactor. Just three people knew that it was all-fake: Obadiah, Pepper and, of course, Tony; but he decided to throw that party anyway… not like he actually _had _to do something.

Tony was used to just ask whatever he wanted so… when he said he was throwing a party Pepper had to add a ton of extra work to her, already, busy schedule. She wanted to slap him when he said he wanted the party in his new mansion in Nice. Anyway, the day came and he just had show up… there were expensive drinks, exclusive food, beautiful women and powerful men, just like any other party… but bigger.

Pepper was tired; she had to work on every detail to ensure the perfect display of extravagance… to see lots of the most influential politicians, heirs, businessmen and power holders in the world gathering to… party, not to save the world or make a difference… just to party. She made sure everything was perfect with security, food services and entertainment; at least Tony was busy with three unbelievable beautiful French models and not bothering her. With a little luck he would be soon going to celebrate on his bedroom and she could relax a little.

"Miss Potts, this is a great party" Obadiah's voice interrupted her thoughts "I'm not surprised" he raised his glass with a smile. "You should be enjoying the party yourself. I won't tell your boss"

"Thanks but I need to make sure everything is ok and Tony-"

Obadiah interrupted her "-Tony is perfectly fine, just look at him" he pointed at a very far away Tony with his hand and then frowned "He doesn't deserve all your attentions" he spoke with a very low voice and Pepper turned to look at his creepy face but then he smiled again "I mean… all that hard work. Anyway, we are thankful for this incredible party" The man nodded and left her alone again.

As expected, she didn't enjoy anything at all. It wasn't even midnight when Tony started causing problems. He was completely wasted and yelling that everybody should run naked to the beach so, before he was out of his shirt she stopped him and dragged his drunken ass to the kitchen. That was just the first time of many during the night.

"Drink your water"

Tony laughed "Water? This crap is not water, my water is a bit more… yellow… with little bubbles"

"You are not going back to the party until you stop acting like that"

"Don't tell… m…me what to do" He tried to stood but fell back to his seat.

"I can't believe this," She muttered a little frustrated.

"What you… don't believe?" He tried to organize his words with no luck. "Come on Pep, don't be mad" He smiled and tried to drink the water.

"You could do so many things but you rather do… this" Tony frowned

"I… what?... no!... Pep… I… I swear"

"Drink your water"

"Where are my girls?" He sighed

"I don't know Tony, where are they?" She rolled her eyes.

"Need to find the girls. Or I could just… uhm… If you…" He stood up "Back to the party… sorry" He left the kitchen.

Between the next two or three hours he got better and then worse and then better again until he disappeared with _his girls_. That was the moment when Pepper had to do her magic; she took care of everyone who was too drunk to left in a car and then the music stopped. She worked with the security staff to slowly get everybody out and after a little more than an hour the house was empty, which knowing Tony was a record, because he could have been partying until morning. She wondered if he had done drugs again. The living room smelled like a hell of… everything and he was acting very weird. Pepper sighed, she didn't want to know because, deep down, it hurt her; Tony promised he wouldn't do it again years before and they never talked about it, but now he was becoming his old self again.

She couldn't sleep feeling that something was wrong. Tony was being irresponsible again and not only with the company. At some point he had become her friend and _sort of _her only family. She tried to close her eyes but then heard something. It was Tony.

She jumped out of her bed but tried to hear before opening her door. Tony was yelling at someone. She could hear him demanding to be alone and a lot of curses. Besides her, Tony and the models were the only people left in the house, so those whores were probably running away, maybe needing somebody to help them out of the house and to get a cab… sure. Pepper smiled and went back to her bed. It was the first time in all the years with Tony that she was ignoring one of these situations, and it felt really good for a few seconds until she started worrying about Tony.

First scenario: The girls left and Tony passed out somewhere in the mansion. But what if they didn't leave and Tony hurt them? No… he wouldn't. But what if they left him alone and Tony was doing something stupid… that was possible. Pepper sighed and sat on her bed. After a few minutes everything was silent again, that was weird.

* * *

He didn't remember why was he so mad, but he wanted to be alone. He knew that celebration was founded on a big lie, not that he cared… or did he? He managed to walk to the pool after getting another glass of scotch. He thought about his father, he was the real hero, he tried to make the reactor something real but the technology was his enemy and now, even with all his resources, he couldn't do it. He tried and failed so, what was the point on celebrating his failure?

* * *

Pepper felt a little anxious, Tony wasn't on his bedroom, or anywhere inside the house. New scenario: He left with the girls. But what if he left without them and was alone? Or in danger? She hated to worry like that; dealing with Tony Stark was like dealing with a child. She was about to call security when the world stopped right before her eyes. Pepper dropped her cellphone and rushed to the pool. She saw Tony's floating body through the glass doors and didn't think before jumping to catch him.

Trembling with fear and desperation, she pulled his hair to get his face out of the water. His eyes were closed.

"Tony!... oh my God" She tried to slap him but it didn't work "I'll get you out of here, listen to me!" Pepper swam carrying his body until they reached the poolside. "Don't die on me Stark, come on!" She struggled to get him out of the water, but didn't give up until he was safe. "Tony!"

Pepper managed to lay him on the floor, breathing heavily after her physical effort. She tried to find his pulse but couldn't sense it. She didn't know what to do. Tony wasn't breathing.

"Tony, listen to me, please… don't do this" She swallowed and hit his chest. "Tony, hear my voice".

Pepper hesitated, but there was no time to think; so she opened his mouth and leaned forward to try to apply what she remembered about CPR, while begging to do it right. Her lips touched his, feeling the taste of alcohol. She proceeded. "Tony" She continued with chest compressions "Tony, hear my voice. You'll be fine" She tried to put pressure on his chest as harder as she could and then went back to his mouth.

"Tooony" She cried desperately while applying pressure over his chest once more. She did it until he moved and spat water. He inhaled and coughed while she was paralyzed.

"Oh God, what the…." He tried to breath and process the events. "Pepper"

"Are you ok? What the hell where you thinking!" Her voice reached higher octaves and Tony frowned feeling a terrible headache.

"I wasn't thinking. I was drunk. I think I hit my head with something. Did you kiss me?" Ha said trying to sit down and touching the back of his head.

"You _are_ drunk. What happened to your head? Are you bleeding?"

Tony shook his head. "I'm n… Pep-"Tony shook his head.

"Can't believe this, I didn't sign up for this"

"Did you kiss me? I heard your voice"

"I _didn't_ kiss you I saved-"

"It was our first kiss" Tony smiled

"- You. It was our first nothing. We need to get you to a hospital"

"No, no! No hospitals. I'm completely-" He coughed loudly and Pepper rolled her eyes

"Fine, sure. Come on, get up and we'll see what to do" She offered her hand to help him. "We need dry clothing first"

"Let's do something fun" Tony smirked "And I like you all wet"

"I walked right into that one" She sighed and helped Tony to walk inside the house.

"Seriously, those wet pajamas look incredible on you, even if you borrowed them from your grandma" Pepper pulled away and Tony almost fell. "What?"

"Are you freaking kidding me?" She turned to be in front of him "You almost died! If I didn't... I wasn't going to…." She sighed and rubbed her eyes "This is not a joke"

"I know… would you stay with me tonight?"

Pepper exhaled with frustration and then slapped him as hard as she had always wanted. Tony didn't see that one coming. He didn't move, his face turned to the right with the impact and his cheek ached.

"You are unbelievable" She walked back to her room and then Tony realized what he had just said.

"Pepper! Please, I'm so sorry I didn't mean what you think… I mean, it was just… not like… _that" _Tony followed her trying not to fall "Pep! Come on. You saved me. I just want to thank you… not like I want something else… I mean, I…" She reached her door and finally stopped and turned to face him.

"You are drunk"

"A little... I-"

"How is your head?" Pepper interrupted him

"It's ok…. I think. Don't you have any painki-" He moved forward like if he was trying to enter her bedroom but she stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"Fine. Now you go to your bedroom, put on something dry, drink a lot of water and get under the covers"

"What if I have to pee?" He smirked and she just narrowed her eyes looking very angry "oook" He sighed "I'm sorry, let me make it up to you"

"Do what I said"

"I don't know if you remember this but I'm the boss here" Tony gestured between them and Pepper didn't answer. She entered her bedroom without a word and then slammed the door in front of his face. Tony frowned "Pepper?... Are we ok?... I'll do what you said ok?" he hoped to get an answer but it didn't happen. "Pepper I'm... dying... I... my head hurts so bad... Pep?" Tony tried to fake a hoarse voice but there was nothing. "Fine... get it. I... g'night" He stood a few more seconds in front of her door, not knowing what to do or why he was there. HE felt the urge to hear her voice but she was really mad. Tony tried to recapitulate the events but he was feeling a little sick, he needed to rest.

He went back to his bedroom and obeyed every order from his assistant until he was ready to fall asleep. He remembered falling to the pool and his head ached a lot. That was very stupid and he was way too drunk. Pepper saved his life. Without her he would be floating dead in the water and nobody else than her would have cared. He never saw Pepper so angry and worried but anyway, she managed to be strong enough to save him and not weep over his stupid actions. He admired her for being brave and a lot stronger than him. Pepper Potts was his assistant but she was able to slap him, tell him what to do and save his life without hesitation. She was his best friend and deserved something more than babbles outside of her bedroom. Nothing the great Tony Stark couldn't solve with a great gesture.

* * *

** Don't forget to review :) The next one will continue this little situation from the past so, I hope you enjoy it! :)**


	24. Chapter 24: The first time in Venice

**A/N: Hey there!... we continue the last chapter and we're in Venice! (finally).**

**I really wanted to do this chapter because I've been teasing about what happened in Venice and, of course, it was inspired by Tony talking about it in IM2. Also... I'm trying to explain why does Tony hear Pepper's voice when he's in danger and why did he hear her and saw something like an arc reactor while he was being tortured in the cave in IM1. So, I swear we're going back to the present in the next chapter :) Give this one a chance!**

**I love to write the flashbacks and I'm sorry if you don't like it. I think this is the last one because there's a lot to do with the story after the cure. I have great ideas and I hope you stick around and enjoy it. If you don't like it, please say it and I'll do my best to write the best story for you ;)**

**Let's read! and please forgive me if there's a lot of mistakes but you can't imagine how tired I am today. :$. Enjoy and review!**

* * *

**Chapter 24: The first time in Venice**

The flight back to Malibu was awkwardly quiet. Pepper was working with her laptop while Tony stared at her, played with the Xbox, tried to watch TV, walked and annoyed her until he sat on the opposite chair.

"What are you doing?"

"Working. We have to be ready for the next board's mee-"

"Pepper! Pepper!, please"

"You asked" She never bothered to lift her head from the laptop.

"Hmm"

Then the silence again. Tony gestured like trying to say something but he couldn't think of the right t words.

"Do you need something Mr. Stark?" She finally closed her laptop to look at him.

"Ehm… I… hmm. You ok?"

"Completely fine. Are you?"

"Better than ever. Slapped by my PA and all" Finally! He recovered his confidence and waited for her answer.

"I understand if you want to dispense with my services" She looked impassive, just staring at him with her legs crossed and not moving a muscle. Tony swallowed. He expected the usual blushing, some snarky retort, a smile, then a joke from him but Pepper looked so damn serious.

"Wha… no!... ok, let's start from scratch… What are you doing?" He tried to smile.

"I'm serious. I understand what I did and it was inappropriate"

"You saved my life. That… was… appropriate" He tried to avoid her gaze while looking for more words to say, "I am grateful. I was stupid and you saved my ass. This time… literally" He half smiled "So… I thought to myself… shouldn't I show my immense gratitude to my lovely assistant?"

Pepper narrowed her eyes "I think I don't want to hear the answer to that"

"Come on, I swear it's not a Ferrari" She finally smiled and Tony could relax a little. "Fasten your seatbelt" He continued with his trademark smirk while Pepper frowned feeling a little confusing.

"What?" She was smiling, but then the security signals lighten up. Her smile disappeared immediately.

"Mr. Stark, we have clear skies. Prepare for landing" The Pilot's voice echoed in the cabin. Pepper turned her head quickly and frowned at Tony.

"Where are we going!"

"Pretty sure you're more like the bohemian, romantic kind of girl" He said practically ignoring her

"Tony!"

"The lights, music, great food"

"Great nothing. We need to get back to Malibu! We have-"

"_We_ have to enjoy life, Miss Potts. And I said I was going to make it up to you"

"You remember what you said last night?"

"I… guess… I said that, anyway… Have you ever been to Venice?"

"Venice? Are we in Venice? Are we in Italy?!" With every word her voice grew louder.

"That's a 10 in geography. That's why I hired you. Smarter than your average girl nowadays. Fasten your seatbelt, please" He proceeded to fasten his own seatbelt and ignored Pepper's furious gaze.

"There's no way we are going to Venice! Turn around!

"Me? I don't fly" He mocked

"I'm not getting out of this plane. I swear. You can do whatever you want but as soon as we land I'm going back to Malibu!".

* * *

"The good news is… I swear there's no misunderstanding with our rooms this time"

"Yeah, sure. Just like our flight plan"

"In my defense. I didn't say anything about our flight plan"

Pepper sighed and continued looking to the fast moving water. That was her first time in Venice, and she had always wanted to go. She had to give Tony some credit tough; he managed to arrange the flight, hotel, a car and now, a boat. That was impressing. Anyway, she wasn't even mad, maybe a little disappointed, but who was she to judge him?. Tony was her boss, her billionaire, genius, and hedonistic boss but he cared about her enough to plan all that. She turned her head to look at Tony.

"So… no misunderstanding with our hotel rooms?"

"Two separated rooms. I swear" He smiled when they stopped at the Cipriani hotel. It was like a whole island with a beautiful building surrounded by even more impressive gardens. "The last time I came here was with my parents. I love this place" Tony interrupted her thoughts.

"It looks nice. How long are we staying?"

"Well… as long as you want to" He smiled and she melted a little. Everything felt like another reality, with no job, or a nearly dead Tony not caring about the world. She knew it was inappropriate but it felt oddly normal.

As Tony promised, she got her own separated room with an incredible view to central Venice. After years with Tony she got used to stay in the most exclusive places, but this had to be the best one. It felt like a palace, in an oasis, in the middle of a fairytale kingdom. She sat on her bed and relaxed with the view. She closed her eyes and tried to decide if she was doing something she shouldn't.

* * *

Back in central Venice, Tony decided to look for a restaurant to have lunch. It was a little late in the afternoon and they were hungry. Surprisingly, he decided to walk and spend some time inspecting the architecture and some stores. Pepper walked behind him and enjoying the city as well.

"Miss Potts, let me ask you something. Are you my bodyguard?" Tony stopped in the middle of the street. Pepper Frowned "Why are you following me like that? Seriously, it's awful"

"What do you want? To hold hands?" Pepper mocked, but before she could say anything else Tony grabbed her hand and pulled her down the street.

"Great idea!"

Pepper tried to pull her hand back "What are you doing?"

"Your idea" He continued walking and ignored her.

This is completely wrong" She sighed "What if-"

"Oh, man… everything is wrong for you"

"-Somebody sees us?"

"They won't say anything because this is totally harmless-"

"Wrong, and inappropriate-"

"-Like a couple of good friends hanging out, doing nothing-"

"-And you're my boss and… holding my hand"

"-Wrong, just walking"

They continued until Tony was interrupted by a little kid touching his arm. They both stopped and the boy said something in Italian.

"Sorry buddy, busy here" Tony turned his head back to Pepper but she was staring at the young boy.

"Sir" He spoke with an accent "You want a rose for your wife?" He insisted and offered a bouquet of flowers to Tony.

"Oh, no, no, no, no" Pepper tried to be polite and smiled but not even as wide as Tony.

"Gimme!" Tony interrupted

"We're not-"

"We are on our honey moon"

"What!" She gave him a very angry look.

"I'm so lucky I married You" Tony mocked and pulled a 100 dollar bill out of his pocket "Please give them to her. All" The boy obeyed and giggled at them.

"Come on Pep, you don't want to be rude with the little guy" Tony gave him the money "Don't waste it ok?"

The young boy nodded "Thank you sir!. Welcome to Venice" He ran away with a big smile and when Tony turned his head to see Pepper again he was staring at him with one of her best angry faces.

"Mrs. Stark, May I?" Tony offered his arm to continue walking

"That wasn't funny" She didn't move

"But it was! Come on, I bought you flowers and I married you. What else can I do to make you happy?" He smiled

"I want the divorce" She gave the flowers back to him and continued walking.

"Pepper!... hey! Don't be mad. The only reason we are here is because I want to show you my gratitude" He followed her through the path between traditional buildings. "You deserve this. At least a day in a nice place, not worrying about the company or… you know… me"

She stopped "And I appreciate it" She looked at him "But I don't want to get involved… I mean… We don't need a blast on Tmz"

"Hmm… I just want to do something good… after…."

"The best thing you can do is not killing yourself. I love my job and I intend to keep it" She gave him a sad smile.

"You shouldn't slap your boss then" Pepper giggled

"I'm sorry about that"

"No you're not"

"I'm not" She tried not to laugh again, but failed.

"Well. Now that we've established that you owe me. Let's enjoy a day in Venice"

"I owe you? I saved you!"

"Please, that was like I million years ago. Move on Potts" He continued walking and now she followed him. Everything felt normal again. "I love Venice. It was mom's favorite place"

"It's beautiful"

"Dad liked it too" Tony continued, "What do you think he would say about the arc reactor stuff?"

And there it was. She always knew when Tony was hiding something and now, it was the reason he wanted to get drunk and throw a decadent party. He was conflicted about their latest publicity stunt. Even after years Tony still was like a lost boy… sometimes. He tried so hard to make the reactor work but he gave up.

"Tony..."

"Just tell me… or… what do _you _think? At least"

"I think… your father believed in that project and you need to believe too"

"I believe" He stopped and faced her

"No. You want a fancy energy source for your company" Tony frowned "I'm sorry…"

"Continue"

Pepper obeyed "I…. you gave up. Of course it's not easy… I don't even know if that's possible or how it works, but if someone _can_ make it possible… that's you. Maybe at a smaller scale… I don't know like a…" Tony frowned again and Pepper stopped, maybe she said something she shouldn't… their situation was inappropriate enough as it was.

"Hold on. That's a great idea" Tony started moving his hands like making calculations on the air "That could… oh my… maybe starting with a smaller one… I mean… I'm busy with the Jericho project but after that… " He smiled and grabbed her by her arms with a big smile on his face "That's why I hired you!... well… that, and the fact that you can appear in my head and order me not to die when I do something stupid… I'm giving you a raise"

Pepper laughed "I don't.-"

"Don't say a word" He interrupted her with a gesture of his right hand "Let's enjoy today. We'll be back in the morning but this day is ours" He gave her a smirk full of happiness and hope.

Tony took her by her hand again. This time she didn't try to pull apart. They found a restaurant and spend the afternoon just walking and enjoying the city, eating and buying things. At some points she stopped caring about how inappropriate their situation was. Years ago Tony told her he wanted to be her friend and, deep down, he was... maybe her best friend, and after a whole day relaxing, laughing and enjoying his company she couldn't be happier. When she saw Tony in the pool her world stopped, she was afraid to admit that he was the only one she had. Tony had a good heart and Pepper was sure he was capable of changing into a better man. At least she would always be there for him, even without knowing… just being in his mind reminding him he had to fight and survive. He would never forget about the night Pepper saved his life for the first time, and her voice would be always with him, calling his name and bringing him back to her.


	25. Chapter 25: The new beginning

**A/N: Hello! I'm sorry, I'm dealing with a lot of stuff at work but still have time for you! (sort of... hehe). New chapter! and back to our story. I'm so happy to read all your reviews and support. As I always say, feel free to comment everything you want, I find your feedback very useful and I appreciate every suggestion you make (even if you are really mad haha) Ok... we're celebrating 100 reviews and the 25th chapter. I think there's a little more to work with but I'm already thinking in a new, shorter, story.**

**Thanks to everyone who PMed me expressing your support this week. You don't know how much I love this story and I'll continue to please all my beloved readers. Thanks for sticking around!**

**Sorry again if there's a lot of mistakes but I don't have time to properly check everything :( I just want to sleep :$**

**So... let's read now! This one has some explicit situations so... here's your warning :). Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review! I'll try to post the next one sooner :)**

* * *

**Chapter 25: The new beginning**

Tony spent a few days analyzing Pepper's blood and making sure Extremis was gone. Bruce deleted all the files and destroyed the samples and the serum, even the stabilized formula.

"And that's all of it. Extremis is gone… forever" Bruce spoke. He entered the lab with some paperwork and gave it to Tony.

"Thanks" Tony proceeded to destroy the documents "What a shame"

"It's better this way"

"I know" Tony finished "The world doesn't need this in the wrong hands"

"Sir, all the files have been deleted" Jarvis interrupted.

"Thanks J" Tony crossed his arms and looked around "So, what now?"

"I think my job is done here" Bruce smiled

"Oh, come on… don't start with that I'm-so-dangerous crap. You know you can stay here"

"Tony, I-"

"We're not afraid of you. You don't have to be alone"

"I know, and it's refreshing, but I…" Bruce tried to find a good excuse. He knew that Tony and Pepper weren't afraid of him, but he was. He thought he could control The Hulk but after New York's battle he went through another two episodes and the last time he made a terrible mess in South America so… he decided to stay in north Canada, ad far as he could form everybody until he got Tony's message.

"I have plans, great plans, and I want you to work with me" Tony continued, "You can help here"

"Tony's right" Pepper's voice interrupted their conversation. "I'm sorry. I overheard"

"You should be sorry… you're not resting" Tony smiled

Pepper rolled her ayes and ignored Tony "What do you want to do, Bruce? And be honest"

"Guys, I really appreciate this, and I know you are not afraid but I couldn't stand it if I hurt any of you"

"I understand" Pepper walked closer to Tony and Bruce and smiled "You know, I was terrified to hurt Tony" She touched Tony's arm with a smile "And I did it"

"Honey, you didn't-"

"Shhh" Pepper gave him a look and then continued to Bruce "…but I could have never done this without him. You have always been alone and we think…" Tony nodded " you deserve better, and you need to start with a little faith"

"Oh man, so smart and beautiful" Tony smiled with a proud gesture but then recovered his sarcastic tone. "But she didn't say anything I didn't say before though"

"I don't know what to say" Bruce replied.

"Just stay a little longer this time. There's a lot I need to do right now and I could use someone like you with R&D and taking care of my new projects. Believe me, better than freezing your ass in the woods"

Bruce smiled "Ok… I think I can try"

"That's my boy!" Tony patted Bruce in his arm

"Welcome… again" Pepper hugged Bruce "it's nice to have someone watching over Tony"

"Ye-… Hey! Don't say that to our guest"

"I say it with love, honey" She smiled but then a serious look appeared on her face "Now, let's go. We need to talk"

"Wow… sorry, really busy here"

"No, we're not-" Bruce spoke but Tony interrupted him with a louder tone

"Have you _ever_ heard about the _bro code_? You help your_ bro _when the girl says _we need to talk_" Pepper giggled

"Stop overreacting" She grabbed his arm

"Fine" Tony sighed "Jarvis!... Open the U.A.I.-Beta file, let Dr. Banner read it!"

"As you wish, sir"

"Please read it and let me know your thoughts about it" Tony spoke while Pepper was pulling him out of the lab.

* * *

"You could have told me you wanted to do the kinky stuff" Tony smiled when they entered to their bedroom.

Pepper ignored his remark and went straight to the bed to reach for her laptop "I talked to Dr. Wu" Tony frowned.

"You did what?"

"I'm sorry I… I know that when I was recovering you did more than just my homework" She showed him some files on her laptop and Tony avoided her gaze.

"Well, what can I say?" Tony lifted his hands feeling caught.

"You really want to do this, don't you?" Pepper sighed and closed her laptop. Tony nodded but didn't answer, "I see"

"I'm sorry Pep. I know we said we should wait until-"

"Until I was fine" She touched his face softly "I am now" Her hand moved down to catch his and then Pepper pulled him to sit on their bed "So… I talked to the doctor"

"And?"

"I think he is very talented, very capable… I did a little research too" Tony smiled "He's willing to come to New Yor"

"Wow, that's a lot more than I did"

"I wanted to surprise you"

"So… now you want me to have surgery?"

"Oh, no, no, no… I want you to be alive. I don't like the idea… but if it's that important to you the least I can do is hear the doctor"

"It's not like I'm going to die if I don't do it-"

"Quite the contrary" She muttered

"-But I think this is important. I need to move on. You were right when you said I'm not over New York and Killian… I…I don't know maybe I'm not over Afghanistan"

"Tony"

"What?"

"I love you"

He finally looked back to Pepper; she was smiling "I don't get it"

"My undeniable love for you, Mr. Stark?"

"Oh, that I'll never understand… but I'm talking… more about… like…. your attitude"

"I just… This is important for you … I'm so proud you want to move on. I want to be by your side. Dr. Wu will be here this weekend, we'll listen and we'll get through this together"

"That's all?"

"Yeah… what were you expecting?"

"Mad Pepper… and then horny Pepper" She laughed and shook her head blushing a little and avoiding Tony's playful eyes.

"I'm not mad" Pepper said with a low voice. Tony frowned.

The next thing she felt was Tony kissing her neck. She closed her eyes at the much-needed contact. Pepper moved her head so she could give him better access and Tony's right hand went to her cheek.

"You have five seconds to complete that," Tony whispered against her ear but the only answer he got was her hand on his t-shirt pulling him closer for a kiss. "Guess this means hor-" She shushed him with another kiss

"Don't ruin it"

"Sorry..." He tried to move but then pulled his hand back "I… I don't want to hurt you"

"You want to wai-"

"No!... I mean… yes, I mean… how do you feel?" Tony swallowed with anticipation. He couldn't wait nay longer… but he was a little afraid of hurting her.

"I feel great, but I think I could be better" She smiled and kissed Tony again, this time moving her hand to the back of his neck and making a deeper contact. "How's your shoulder?" She spoke against his lips.

"What shoulder?" Tony breathed heavily and pushed her to the bed "I know it's been just a few weeks but-"

"I know" She replied hoarsely, embracing Tony with her arms and legs. Her body felt different, still a little weak but a lot more sensitive. Maybe it was normal, she got used to extremis and the incredible strength, which came with the powers. It was horrible to feel that she was going to break Tony with her touch or burst into flames and hurt him. More than strong, she felt like a monster; but now… every sensation was so intense. Tony's weight over her body, heat, strong hands and the undeniable pleasure of being his.

Pepper closed her eyes and enjoyed every second. Tony kissed her with adoration. He took his time to make sure it was real, that she was cured and strong. He could hear a soft moan escaping from her mouth as his hands started went down her shirt and straight to her breasts.

"You missed me, baby?" Tony whispered against her neck.

"Yes, Tony…" her hands pulled his head closer, digging into his hair. "I love you so much"

He stopped and lifted his head with a smile "I love you too… and you can't even star imaging how much I've missed you" He kissed her softly and then lifted his body just enough to let her take his t-shirt out. Pepper touched the arc reactor on his chest. She stared at the blue light trying to fake a smile.

"Don't worry. I won't do it if it's not safe"

"I thought Tony Star was all about risks"

Tony smiled "I am… but there's one risk I'm not willing to take, Miss Potts. And that's leaving you"

"Smooth" Pepper mocked, this time with a real grin on her face.

"You've got yourself your very own prince charming"

"I prefer a knight in shining armor" And with that, Pepper pulled him again for another kiss.

They continued undressing each other as Tony's mouth tried to memorize every inch of the body he had missed so much. Pepper clung to the sheets. He proceeded to dispose of the last of their clothes carefully.

"You ok?" Tony's voice sounded more like a growl against her heated skin.

"Yes" Pepper moaned with her eyes closed "Tony…" He continued kissing her, starting with her shoulder and down through her body. "I'm not going to break"

Tony smiled and moved his mouth to her left breast, hearing a loud gasp as a response. He continued and used his left hand to take care of the rest of her naked body; and Pepper wanted to return the favor. She reached down to grab his hard-on and squeezed it slowly. Tony trembled in surprised and then stopped. "Damn" He closed his eyes and with a quick movement grabbed Pepper's wrists and held her arms atop her head. "Naughty girl". He went back to her neck so Pepper took her opportunity to bit on Tony's earlobe.

He groaned loudly when she pulled him closer with her legs and started moving up and down as much as Tony's grip and weight let her. In regular basis she was prim and a little shy but Tony made her feel wild and free. He was able to activate every nerve on her body, his touch just… fitted… naturally and that was the whole point, everything felt right in his arms. She felt loved, desired, respected and, well, more than fully satisfied.

Tony's goatee tickled her stomach, stopping every thought and replacing it with anticipation. Pepper realized her hands were free again and reached for Tony's tousled hair. He kissed his way down and then spread her legs to find his objective. Pepper arched her back at the intense pleasure. Now a couple of weeks felt like years without him. Her legs shivered and Tony held her in place with his strong hands over her hips. Pepper tried to move but there was no point, Tony just moved his tongue faster and put her legs over his shoulders. She let a loud whimper escape and cried his name feeling really close; but Tony stopped.

She protested and tried to touch herself, still with eyes closed and breathing heavily. Tony contemplated her, at his mercy and her body begging for him, but not like any other –of the many- women he had had. She wanted his love, and every terrible aspect of his personality, his past and his mistakes and she was ready to give herself to him without hesitation. In fact, she did it many years ago, when it didn't seem to be the best idea to put her heart at risk with someone like him. Pepper opened her eyes and Tony could see his favorite color in the whole world, now a little darker, but still. He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her again. He was all wet and sticky. Pepper blushed when she realized it was because of her.

"I love you Tony" She whispered against his lips. Tony didn't answer but buried himself into her body as a response, a slowly and torturing response. "Oh God" He suddenly kissed her again, deeply and sharp. Her hands went down to his ass and she pushed him harder against her body. Tony managed to hold his weight on his forearms so he could see Pepper's face; she was biting her lower lip.

"Why…" Tony spoke hoarsely as he was trying to keep his slow pace "Don't… I like it when you are loud" He kissed her again and thrusted deeper, making her moan against his mouth. He reveled with the intense pleasure and decided to accelerate and she helped wrapping her legs around his waist.

Tony started to lose control of his actions and Pepper rewarded him with even louder groans and her nails digging into his back. He went slow and then faster, fighting his own animal desire, trying not to hurt her. He closed his eyes and kept going with a throaty grunt. It was hard to think and restrain himself, even more when she continued screaming his name and pushing her hips up to find a deeper contact. "Damn it, Pep" He spoke when his shoulder failed and he had to tumble on her body, but he didn't stop.

Pepper embraced his sweaty body and enjoyed the contact. It was a perfect fit between them. She felt how her body trembled furiously with the first waves of her orgasm. Her nails dug into his flesh and scratched him, wanting to leave a reminder of their passion. He took his clue to go faster and with his head buried in her neck he reached his own climax.

A few minutes later all the noise and movement disappeared, only leaving the soft sound of their breathing. Tony rolled to his side, but he didn't set her free of his embrace. "We're back"

"Indeed, we are" She smiled and tried to wipe the lipstick all over Tony's face with her thumb. "Red lipstick looks good on you"

"Just like all the hickeys on you"

"Tony!" She frowned and tried to pull away to inspect her body, but he didn't let her "You know I hate it!"

Tony started laughing "But it's so sexy"

"Let me go!"

"No can do" He interrupted her with a heated kiss. When they separated she kind of forgot her point. "Better" Tony smiled and tightened his embrace around her. "Wanna go another round?" his hand traveled down her body as he spoke.

"Do I want to go another round?" She smiled and moved to be on top of him, Tony let her took control.

"How could I have wasted so much time?" He replied with a sad smile and making a mental promise to never let her go.


	26. Chapter 26: The morning

**A/N I know, I know I'm the worst living being on the planet. I'm sorry, my life is a pure chaos haha. I'm very happy, and working hard... but still love this story, I'm not leaving you! Every moment I can I write, and now there's a new chapter! Think of it as a transition, we are entering the final part of the story. I love all your reviews and opinions, You have plenty of time to write a few words since this lazy author is publishing like once a week :$. I'm trying to write longer chapters, but it's the best I can do for now, Let's say I'll publish once or twice a week.**

**This one has another explicit scene, you've been warned. I hope you enjoy it. I'm trying to think the best way to end this. I read suggestions :) haha Let's read!**

* * *

**Chapter 26: The Morning**

"Tony"

A soft voice distracted him from that blurry image of a beach and a little kid running and playing with his mother. He couldn't see the boy's face, but he had dark hair and felt very familiar. The mother continued laughing and chasing his kid, that was the moment when he realized the boy had blue eyes, but he couldn't see the mother… Who was that woman?

"Tony…"

He opened his eyes. Pepper was staring at him with a big smile. The same eyes. Tony smiled back.

"I was having the best dream. You ruined it"

Pepper giggled, she was sleeping on her side and facing Tony, who was in the same position. Their nakedness only covered by the soft sheets.

"I can imagine what was it about"

"A beautiful woman with no face on a beach"

Pepper cocked an eyebrow "No face, huh? That's very you"

"More like… I couldn't see her face… she's got a face." Tony's hand went to her hip and tried to pull her closer to him. "She had…" He stopped both his words and his hand on Pepper's body.

"What?" Pepper frowned, still smiling but now a little confused. Tony looked very serious.

"Eh… no. Guess I forgot" He faked a smile and moved forward to kiss her. "Good morning, Miss Potts"

"You are such a bad liar" She spoke against his lips "But a great kisser" Tony made the contact deeper with his tongue and in a few seconds he was on top of her. Pepper wasn't very surprised when she felt Tony absolutely ready against her thighs. No matter how injured, tired, stressed or busy… he never had enough of her, and never hid it. That's why she didn't care about his dream or that mysterious-faceless woman. Tony's passion, desire and heart belonged to her.

Not like she couldn't remind him.

Pepper pushed his body and rolled to be on top. He was heavy, but helpful. One leg on each side of him and her hands on his chest, she leaned in to continue with the kiss, moving her hands to his shoulders and pulling him up with her so they were sitting on the bed. She wrapped her legs around his waist while Tony decided to move his hands downwards and grab her ass. They stopped the kiss, needing air, but Tony's forehead never left hers.

"You… have a lot of… energy" Tony tried to catch his breath.

"Want to complain?" Her hands moved up to the back of his head.

"Oh, no, no, no, never… I would fire you so you wont have to go to the office and leave this bed"

"You better don't" Her hands grabbed his hair and pulled him for another, deeper, kiss. Tony's palms felt hot against her back, moving up and down, tightening their embrace and closing the space between their bodies. She took the opportunity to bit his lower lip and then continue kissing his jawline. Tony closed his eyes. Pepper liked to take control of the situation… sometimes, and he enjoyed those unique moments. He was never a submissive lover, never let a woman touch him like that; but of course, Pepper was different in every aspect.

Tony's hand traveled through the soft skin and between them, trying to reach more of her body. Pepper moaned softly when he squeezed her right breast and continued moving his hand to her neck with his mouth drawing kisses on her jawline. She moved her head to catch Tony's lips while lifting her body. He helped with one arm around her and a hand aiming his dick to the right position.

She never broke the kiss, but bit on his lower lip trying to fight a muffled groan when Tony slowly entered her body. They stood still for a few seconds, both breathing heavily and enjoying the intimate contact, more than simple pleasure; it was a deep contact they felt since the first time. Pepper moved her legs to gain impulse, moving upwards and Tony helped with his hands over her ass. They started slowly, both letting escape soft sounds with every movement.

"So good, yeah" Tony growled, pressing his eyes closed. He tightened his grip on her and tried to make her go faster. Pepper got his massage and leaning on his shoulders she went up and down harder. Tony supported her back and moved his head forward to catch her neck, nibbling on the sensitive skin. A smile appeared on his face when Pepper started to moan his name, increasingly louder and almost screaming when he moved one hand down to her clit.

Pepper arched her whole body and pulled his hair giving into the intense pleasure and letting Tony take control of the situation. The only thing she could feel was his wet tongue over her arms, chest, breasts and neck, reaching for every spot and driving her crazy along with his throbbing member inside of her. Tony wrapped his arms around her and she moved her hands to capture his lips again and then pushing her tongue on his mouth, bogging for more of him. He pushed his hips up, they both feeling close. It was hard for him to move but continued, drawing a trail of rough and clumsy kisses on her face and down to her neck. He buried his face against her shoulder and exploded when Pepper screamed his name and trembled in his arms and relaxed, breathing heavily next to his ear. Tony groaned against her shoulder and tried to focus, but her scent was his weakness. His hands moved again on her back and he felt the urge to take her again.

"Oh God" She exhaled and felt her mind working again, pulling away and laying back on the mattress.

"Please, just Tony, honey" Tony showed his trademark smirk and snuggled next to her. "Your performance was remarkable too, if I may say so" His right arm pulled Pepper closer.

Pepper giggled with her characteristic after-mind-blowing-sex-blush. Tony loved it. Every girl before _his_ Pepper was a distant blur in his life, leaving just one clear for the future.

"You look outrageously gorgeous this morning, by the way"

"Very charming" She smiled and rolled on her side to face Tony. "I really missed this, you know"

"Of course, you dirty, dirty girl" He tried to kiss her but Pepper stopped him with her index finger on his mouth.

"I mean… _us_… like this, just us in the morning"

"I know things got all messed up since Loki and all that stuff" He stroked her cheek carefully. "Been a long time since everything was so… quiet"

"I'm afraid it'll end very soon" Tony frowned "The Company, the surgery, our house… Iron Man"

"Uhmm… let's go away"

"Tony, that's not the solution for everything"

"But it's a great idea. I'm a genius remember? No more talking, just do it" She gave him a sad smile. There was nothing she wanted more than going away with him, but she already left the company for a couple of weeks and everything was a mess. The last thing they needed was disappearing from their responsibilities.

"I really wish we could" She hugged him "We have a lot of things to talk about"

"Way to kill the mood, Potts"

"Someone has to take care of things"

"And that's why we complement each other so well"

"What do you do for me?" Pepper climbed over him with her forearms on his chest.

Tony answered with a playful smile "Well, I save the world you live in… you're welcome. I love you, which makes you happy. I give you a lot of orgasms, and that makes you even more happy"

"Okaaay… I think that's enough" She rolled her eyes.

"I'm just providing you with a healthy and happy work environment"

"You're missing the point"

"I never miss the point" He retorted with a devilish smile.

"I'm serious…" And she sounded serious. Tony enveloped her with his arms.

"The point is boring, Pep"

"The point is we have a lot of things to talk about. I don't want you to start building suits like crazy and behind my back. And that's it… I said it" She avoided his gaze.

"Is it all about the suits?"

"Not just the suits" She looked at him again "Your attitude… I love you Tony but it was horrible to move in with you and spend the nights alone hearing explosions"

"My fault, I admit it… You know that's not gonna happen again, right?"

"Do I?"

"Promise"

"It's not like I'm asking you to quit… I don't want to sound like a bitch but I think we need to work a lot of things on this relationship, and that includes that we need to spend more time together"

"Agreed"

"Say something else"

"Like what?"

"Tony!"

"I'm sorry Pep… you're the woman, you need this things… and all this… talking and I'm just so damn distracted by the fact that you're all naked" Pepper narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to speak again, but Tony interrupted her "Ok, I don't wanna go all macho on this but I think I get the point. Quality time together, right?"

"Why did I have to fall in love with you?"

"Cause I'm awesome… keep going. Let's get through this talking-thing"

"talking-thing? You don't –"

"Ok, sorry"

"-Care"

"No, no. I care. I swear. Come on, Pep. I want to hear you"

"Fine" She sighed "What about the mansion?"

"What about it?"

"It's destroyed"

"Do you liked it?"

"Well, yes… I mean, we can't just leave the ruins there"

"Uhm… I think I want to check if there's something we can recover"

"Want me to send someone?"

"Wanna do it myself… then we can build our new home. I mean, I like it in here but Malibu's special"

"I like it too"

"I would like to build a new home for us, like _our _home. And I want you to decide with me. The design, painting, decoration… let's see it like a new beginning"

She smiled "I love the view"

"Guess that means yes. We're gonna start again in a place that feels like ours. It's gonna be great"

"That actually sounds fantastic" She smiled and started tracing the arc reactor lines with her finger.

"Yep. Pretty romantic. I intend to make a lot of plans with you. Keep me on your schedule"

"Always, sweetie" She gave him a peck "See? You can be a little apprehensive. It doesn't hurt"

"Still bored. Let's do something fun" Tony moved his hands down through her body.

"This conversation is not-"

"Yes it is"

"-Over, Tony"

"I know, I know. Look" Tony grabbed Pepper by her arms "I know there's a lot, and that it's important. Believe me, I care, but the only thing I want to do right know is enjoy this moment" He rolled to make them face each other.

"I need to work"

"Take the day"

"The morning"

"Deal"

Pepper sighed, she was a little frustrated, but happy anyway. Tony moved her as close as he could and covered them with the sheets. He felt so comfortable with her, maybe they still needed to talk and work on a lot of issues but he was trying, and forgetting about evil forces in other universes. He was ready. Pepper's steady breathing was reassuring, relaxing.

"Uhm" She muttered

"What?"

"I'm hungry" They both laughed. They still had a morning.

* * *

**Don't forget to feed the author. ;)**


	27. Chapter 27: The signs

**A/N: Don't forget to leave your feedback! I hope you enjoy the chapter ;)**

**Chapter 27: The signs**

"Come on Tony, I'm not a therapist"

"But you're all about issues… temperament, that stuff"

"Which means that I _need _a therapist"

"Well, You listen to me and then, as a token of my affection, Pepper listens to you"

"I'm busy" Bruce tried to ignore Tony, but he was just chasing after him all across the lab.

"You don't look busy"

"I'm thinking, I'm busy thinking"

"Stop thinking"

"Don't you have something to do?"

"I do. Talking. I promised it to Pepper" Tony continued following Bruce until he stopped next to his desk. He turned to face Tony and crossed his arms. Bruce looked a little frustrated and took his glasses before rubbing his eyes of as he always did when he was tired or trying to deal with a problem. This time the problem had a name.

"Fine, talk"

"What? Not like this" Bruce sighed, "We have to set the mood"

"Tony…"

"We need a chaise… I don't know… like some lamps over there, something for you to take notes"

"I'm not taking notes" Tony was ready to continue but Bruce stopped him "Let's… let's go for a cup of coffee ok? Some place with a lot of wood and couches"

"Way too public"

Bruce didn't want to be out in New York or worse… out with a very annoying Tony Stark and noise people around him, but he needed his friend to stop with all those crazy arrangements. "Then you'll have to settle for this lovely laboratory" He smiled.

"Ok… for now, until I get some new furniture"

"Whatever you say" Bruce stood still while Tony leaned on a table "So… what do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know, you're the doctor" Bruce rolled his eyes "Fine. I had this dream…"

"When?"

"Last night"

"Another nightmare?"

"Oh no, it was actually quite beautiful. I think it was a sign"

"Okeeey. That's good" Bruce thought Tony needed to talk about his nightmares, and the fear New York's battle caused on him, or maybe everything that happened with Pepper and extremis. Tony just continued, tapping his chin with his index finger and moving it with gestures in the air.

"I could be a great father"

Bruce was suddenly paying attention, and surprised "A what?"

Tony continued, still with his gaze focused in some imaginary point in the air "I mean… Pepper is the girl, like _the _girl, there's not gonna be other. I'm just wasting time here because we're not getting any younger… and I want the whole deal with her. Oh God I do… I want… Oh… I want tons of redhead, blu-eyed babies" He realized while talking almost too fast for Bruce to process the information.

"What are you talking abo-"

"Oh my God, man, you're such a good therapist" Bruce, still in shock, didn't move when Tony hugged him and then ran out of the lab. That was a surprise. The bond between Pepper and Tony was undeniable, even if Stark wasn't the kind of guy to appreciate a committed relationship, they shared something… unique, weird, but unique. But even after all that, he never expected to hear Tony talking about kids. He felt happy for his friend. Crazy issues and all, he had his place in the world, and love, he deserved a family… who knows? Maybe Tony Stark could be a great father after all.

* * *

Even as relaxing as the morning with Tony was, now Pepper had a terrible headache. Not only she had to deal with business but also the world wanted to know every single detail about how did Tony survived when he was presumed dead… how did _she_ survived, which led to the fact that the world knew they were living together in Malibu. Everybody wanted to know about the battle, there were rumors about more suits and monsters and the fact that the president was involved in the whole thing didn't help. She feared the PR staff would go crazy and quit leaving her alone with the mess. There were statements to approve and answers to give, some of them with her own voice.

"Yes, we need to thank Iron Man and the Iron Patriot for their heroic actions. Stark industries is proud to be considered to work with our government"

"It's still not clear if the attack to the air force one was the product of a failure on the Iron Patriot suit or an infiltrate" Said the voice on her phone. Just another interview.

"We don't have a word on this. The only thing I can say is that Stark Industries will be assuming the maintenance and technological operations of the Iron Patriot suit and helping Colonel Rhodes to continue with his remarkable actions"

"Does this mean that Stark Industries might be reopening it weapons division?"

"We're focusing on our clean energy project, going for further innovations in medicine and advances in transportation and communications. Nothing with weapons. Our work is creating a better world, not war. We try to guarantee the peace and safety of-"

"With two dangerous, indestructible flying weapons"

"With two brave men risking their lives to avoid terrorism and attacks on children, women and any kind of violence"

"But even with all of that, Tony Stark was attacked on his own house. He attracted the attention of an international terrorist and then our own president was kept hostage and almost killed. I believe your own life was put at risk in the attack while Tony Stark went missing for days. What could we expect if he can't even protect his-"

"I'm sorry, you seem to forget that you're talking about a man who have saved millions of lives, he's never doubted himself, and I've never doubted him. There's always going to be consequences for people like Tony, the ones who actually try to make a better world with actions"

_"Where's the most beautiful woman in the face of the earth!"_

She heard Tony's voice outside her office and prayed her interviewer didn't "Pep! Peppy, pep! Got great news!" He entered with a big smile on his face and Pepper noticed that whatever the reporter was saying… stopped. She frowned and signaled Tony to shut up

"Excuse me?" She continued on the phone.

"Who's bothering you?" Tony sat in front of her, on the other side of her desk. Pepper tried to ignore him and listened the question again "Come on, honey. I have to tell you something important"

"Yes. He's aware of that, but we already made public his statement on the attack in Malibu house and the air force one, where Iron Man and Iron Patriot successfully defeated one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations, that's what is important here, as I already said"

"Pepper!... just hang up, you look annoyed, I'll make you happy" He tried to murmur in a lower voice, but Pepper just ignored him.

"That's part of our personal lives and we don't give away details abou-"

"I want to have babies with you" Tony snapped, leaning back on his chair with a big smile on his face.

Pepper gave him her best angry face, but almost chocked. The silence only interrupted by the reporter asking if that was Tony and if he said what he said. "Eh… I'm sorry I think we have covered all your questions"

"But Miss Potts!"

"Thanks for your time" She hung up and looked right at Tony "What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Nothing!... I'm in love"

"Oh God, it'll be all over the Internet in 5 minutes… I've been dealing with the press for hours. Our PR is about to quit and now, your inability to keep your mouth shut have caused me a lot more of this crap" She looked dead serious and Tony felt a little guilty, but more than that… disappointed. He couldn't find the words to continue, just stared at her with a sad look and trying to make an excuse to leave. Her phone rang.

Pepper sighed and grabbed it, but Tony put his hand over hers, making Pepper lift her gaze to make contact with his again. He wasn't joking. Maybe he was a little afra-terrified in the morning. He decided to never talk about his dream and just ignore it but the truth was… he wanted that woman to be Pepper, he knew she was Pepper, and he wanted a family with her. "I… I meant it"

"What?" Pepper frowned. Part of her surprised and the other part scared.

"Like… a family, you know… you and me" He swallowed, Pepper's eyes were intimidating. "I mean, we're not getting any younger"

"You came here to say that I'm old?" she almost giggled. Tony's puppy eyes were her weakness, and she wasn't even sure if he really knew what he was talking about.

"Oh God, no, no, no!... You look absolutely stunning; better every day… but biology says-" He stopped when she finally laughed. "What? What is so funny?"

"I'm sorry it's just… you" Her phone was still ringing but she didn't care.

"Don't mock the father of your children" But that just made her laugh even harder "Wow… heard that? My heart just broke" He pulled back his hand.

"Oh really?" She calmed down. "How to mend a broken heart?"

"With babies, lots of beautiful, incredibly smart and blue-eyed babies… and the baby-making process, of course" She smiled again, but this time actually thinking about the matte. She knew when Tony was being serious in his own weird way. He leaned forward like waiting for an answer. She had thought about the idea, but never cared too much. She supposed Tony didn't want kids and the truth was, she was afraid to have baby with a dad who was a superhero. It was bad enough every time her hearth had stopped when he was out on missions. "You know, my dream… it was you. And there was a little boy."

"You said you couldn't see the woman"

"The boy's eyes… just like yours. I want that" He smiled. "You don't have to answer right now. I just wanted you to know it. I want the whole deal, honey"

"You sure you know how to be a daddy?"

"Of course not. But I learned my social security number… I got this. Let's make babies"

"Let's decide about other things first, sweetheart"

"Like marriage? A house? A dog?"

"Like dinner… and a cat" she smiled "or the fact that you didn't talk to Bruce but started planning the rest of our lives together"

"Jut planning ahead. You should be proud. And I did talk to Bruce. Very nice, very helpful. An agreement can be made for the cat…. And four babies"

"Oh I want him to tell me what you really talked about. Of course you didn't forget to invite him to dinner. Did you?"

"Uh… you know what I forget…" Tony stood up "Something… in the lab… Three babies, last offer" We stared moving towards the door

"Where are you going?"

"To the lab. Didn't I just say that?"

"Come here" she moved her head suggesting him to come closer. He obeyed and leaned forward with his hands on her desk. "Two, tops" He didn't have time to retort when she kissed him slowly. "Now go" she murmured against his lips.

"Love you. And our babies, and our cat"

"Me too"

They both smiled as Tony walked our of Pepper's office. The world started moving again, just as her inbox and phone. She smiled at the idea of having a baby with Tony, it was scaring, but he was the only man she wanted to have a family with.


	28. Chapter 28: The project

**A/N: Hello again! It seems like i'll be posting on mondays (still monday here hehe) I wish I could write more often but you know... tons of work. This is a very sweet chapter, I hope you enjoy it! As you'll read, I'm trying to include something very important that we could see in the upcoming movies with Tony. Since I read that he'll create... something, I wonder why would he do that?... let's hope that when you see Avengers 2 this will make sense haha... who knows? promise you'll remember this story if that happens... Since IM3 left us with a very committed Tony I guess this could actually happen in some way... Anyway, is just a theory maybe it wont even happen at all... Ok, enough talking, let's reaaad!**

**PD: I found this video in youtube and I hope you can see it... i think it's amazing. It's a parody with Tony :) I don't know if the link will work, just paste it after youtube: watch?v=O2S0R0WIN40**

* * *

**Chapter 28: The project**

"Oh, honey, you're glowing" She was wearing jeans, a white shirt and a blue blazer. Tony loved when she was out of the business suits.

"Shut up" Pepper smiled when Tony hugged her from behind. "Bruce will be here any minute"

"But you know what could make you glow even more?" He ignored her and continued, whispering next to her ear.

"Let me guess… a baby?"

"Just sayin'" He kissed her neck. "A little Stark, my legitimate heir and future hero"

"Oh, no, no… There's no way I'm letting you drag our son into your craziness" She let out, a little distracted by Tony's mouth on her skin. He stopped.

"Oh… my…. God. You're already talking about our son. It sounds magnificent!"

Pepper laughed. His voice was full of joy and illusion. He was absolutely serious, and it was contagious. Quick images about Tony with a little baby on his arms made her hearth jump. Tony made her look at him. He was smiling, that self-sufficient smirk she loved.

"Indeed. Sounds fantastic" Her smile was as big as his. Everything felt so normal, no Extremis, no Avengers, no Shield and no Iron Man (at least for now) Just Tony, the man she loved more than life itself, wanting to start a family with her.

"That's it? No retort? No _but_? I like compliant Potts!" He gave her a quick peck. "Actually, I like all forms of Potts"

She moved her arms over Tony's shoulders "That's nice, because you are stuck with me, Mr. Stark"

"You" He kissed her "and our Iron babies… oh, and Mr. Whiskertons" Pepper laughed again, leaning forward for another kiss.

* * *

"Hi pal!" Tony appeared in the living room with a big smile on his face "Been here for long? I'm sorry. Pepper's fault. She can't get enough of this"

"Tony!" She was following him "Just ignore him"

"I'll do my best… Although I'm glad to see you both in such a good mood"

Pepper grabbed Tony's hand "Yeah. He didn't have to deal with the press asking for the bastard child we had and hid for years"

Tony laughed "Seriously?... was it that bad?"

"You can't even imagine"

"Ok, now you got my attention" Bruce interrupted "Now that I remember, you were talking about being a father this morning. What did you do?" Bruce mocked.

"Dinner's ready and this is a long story that needs a lot of wine to be told"

"Sweetheart, you shouldn't be drinking"

Pepper sighed "Tony I'm not even… agh… just help me in the kitchen, honey"

"Yes dear, but you can't blame me. I'm the man. I take care of you"

"You are the man and you help serving the food" Tony followed her to the kitchen.

Bruce helped too. It was easy for Tony to lose the notion of space and time while she was around, but they managed to have a nice dinner while talking about the highlights of the day, specially about Tony walking in her office to announce he wanted babies, and how it spread like a virus in the next few minutes. They went back to the living room to have more wine and continue their conversation. Tony insisted he had something important to talk about.

"That's enough for you, gorgeous"

"Thanks. Come On" Tony sat next to her.

"So… babies, huh?" Bruce asked. "I'm so happy for you guys. I think this is a huge step, you share something incredible and I think you'll make great parents" Bruce raised his glass with a smile. He could have all the wine he wanted. He couldn't get drunk anyway.

"Oh yeah" Tony grinned, "I think it's a great idea. The right time. The right girl. Lots of cute babies" Tony's grin had no equal while kissing her hand.

"Going slow is not Tony's thing"

"Excuse me if I was afraid you could make me wait 12 years" Tony mocked.

"And you were lucky, honey" She teased.

"Not as much as you, beautiful" They stared at each other, it was like looking at a couple of teenagers. Bruce cleared his throat.

"Ehm… sorry" Pepper blushed a little "Ok… you said you have something important to talk about. You already want babies. I can't imagine what…"

"Actually, this is all-business" Tony interrupted and then talked to Bruce "Did you read the project?"

"I did. I'm… impressed. The idea is good, but I don't think the government…"

"Please, that's where my lovely girl appears"

"What are you talking about?" Pepper asked as she sipped some more wine.

"I did some thinking. You know, I'm a genius… and realized that all this" Tony tried to gesture with his hands in the air "The whole thing was a sign Pep; extremis, the battle with Loki… you… falling… I don't want to stop, I mean… It's not like I want to stop being Iron Man, I can't. But I do want to slow down a little bit"

"I don't get it" Pepper was confused. One day he talked about surgery, the other about quitting and the next one not. The last time he said he wanted to continue, but still take the reactor out if his body "Is this about the surgery?"

"Oh no, no. Bigger. The thing is… Maybe the world still needs Iron Man, but it doesn't mean I have to do it all by myself" Pepper frowned, Tony continued "Jarvis was great with the suits, but he's not designed for combat. What if we create our own operational, automatic robots?"

"Like an army of suits?"

"Robots honey. Not an army. A couple… of robots, not suits" He talked almost too fast

"I don't think this is the right moment Tony. Senator Stern is still trying to process superheroes… You're talking about having your own… force. We're just getting out the Iron Patriot mess"

"It's not like I'm going to make my own army. We could make a deal with defense"

"Are you talking about… reopening weapons' division?"

"Ehm… it's an exception. And I want us to keep control"

"Uhm… That's not going to be easy"

"Of course. It's us" Tony smiled "I want Bruce working on this with me, you do the business. We can be safe and spend more time together. This is for us too Pep, I know you don't want to have a child and worry about his father" Pepper sighed.

"Is it safe?" She asked both men.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know… should I send someone to the past to protect John Connor?" Tony laughed.

"Didn't know you had such worries about an apocalyptic future" He smiled " It's completely safe, just like when Jarvis-"

"Oh you mean when he shot me?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Potts" The AI voice came out of nowhere.

"No worries buddy. She still loves you"

Bruce, trying not to laugh, interrupted "I don't know about Jarvis, but I think project Ultron could be something good if we do it right"

"Project Ultron?" Pepper rolled her eyes "That sounds so much safer"

"Badass, baby" Tony smiled "What do you say? You're the boss"

* * *

Later that night… Pepper was absolutely tired, but still working with her laptop on the bed, waiting for Tony. Now they could say _Project Ultron_ was running, even if it was a secret between Tony, Bruce and her. She had to admit it could be a good idea. With this… robo…cop? Whatever… Tony could be doing less dangerous missions and still be relaxed about all his safety issues, he still had them, but he was trying to make things better.

First of all, Tony was all in about starting a family, and being responsible. It was also true that all that… calm was a symptom of him starting a new project, which could be good and bad at the same time. She didn't wanted to spend the nights alone again, part of her was quietly praying that Tony would appear in the bedroom any moment; nut he needed his tinkering to keep his mind busy. The good news was that he wasn't freaking out about not having a suit until now, that meant he felt safe. Not like they weren't living with the strongest living thing on earth. All her thoughts were interrupted when tony appeared in the room with two glasses, one in each hand.

"I thought you were working with Bruce"

"Wrong, my lady. I was making your favorite tea and some delicious chocolate milk for me" He smiled when he landed on the mattress and gave her the cup.

"You did this? Smells nice" She took a sip, almost forgetting about all the emails, charts, numbers or whatever she was doing.

"Of course. I'm such a sweet boyfriend"

"Oh… as sweet as this" She giggled "Did you use all the sugar?"

"You didn't like it?" Her heart melted at his expression, he tried to pull a smile but he was clearly disappointed.

"Oh no, honey, I like it" She tasted some more "It's perfect for me" Tony smiled again "As sweet as you" She ran her thumb over his moustache trying to clean the remains of chocolate milk.

"Cheesy" He smiled and kissed her quickly.

"So, what about _ultron_?" She tried to pull a tickly voice with the last word.

"See, badass" He smiled while setting her hair free from her ponytail "We'll start tomorrow. Baby steps. Need a prototype and then we'll talk business"

"Ok. Sounds good"

"What else?" He took another sip of his milk "You look troubled"

"You won't leave me again, will you?"

Tony took the cup and his glass and put them on the nightstand, then hugged her as close as he could "Never again, that's the whole point. I still have issues, still have some nightmares. I'm not going back to bury myself in a project. Which leads me to… turn that thing off" She smiled.

"You caused most of the trouble I'm dealing with" She spoke against his chest, way too relaxed to move a muscle.

"Tell the truth"

"I love you" She smiled against his chest. She didn't even realize that Tony put her laptop on the nightstand too and covered them with the blankets. Everything she felt was his warm body around her and the image of him, beautiful babies and, of course, Mr. Whiskertons in her mind again.

* * *

**Don't forget to review! I'm so happy you liked Chapter 27... I think that now that Pepper's fine Tony can breath again, be himself... that's why his character changed, thanks for all your comments I'll keep doing that... we need more funny Tony :D **


	29. Chapter 29: The doctor

**A/N: Hello... this one took me FOREVER!... I'm sorry, I answered some reviews and promised a chapter yesterday... but here I am... very early. This one is longer but I'm sorry if it has many mistakes. You know I do my best with English hehe.**

**Before you read I want to clarify something... I put the Ultron thing in there but it's not a spoiler... somebody got a little mad about it but it probably wont happen in the movie anyway, I mean, I don't know what is going to happen.. somebody said it... but I guess it's not true. Anyway it plays well with Tony in this case, doesn't it? haha Aaaanyway... I wasn't planning to develop that idea in this story, it was more like an easter-egg-sort-of-thing but I'm so glad 99,9% of you liked it. I've been getting great feedback from all of you and there's nothing better than knowing how much you like this story (even if I'm making your eyes bleed with grammar. I'm really sorry about that)**

**Oh... it's true that we're really close to end this one but I have three new ideas. If you liked this one I would love to see you there if I write something new :) Thanks for all your comments, there's nothing better than that :)**

* * *

**Chapter 29: The doctor**

Days passed quickly. Pepper finally had the company under control… and the press… almost. She hated to talk about her personal life but it came with the package. Tony was a super-famous, super-hero… everybody loved him and wanted to know about his life. They admitted that they wanted to commit and start a family, still trying to be as discrete as possible. The next rumor was that they were already married, but at least the press stopped saying that they had hid a child for years. After all, they had been a couple for long, it was normal to make the next step, people appeared to support them all around the globe.

It was weird to be that… relevant but just as every gossip, everything cooled down when some Hollywood star did something scandalous. Pepper focused on work and Tony spent most of his time with Bruce.

It was Saturday in the morning when Jarvis announced that Dr. Wu was in the lobby.

"Tony!"

"Heard you!" His voice came from inside the bathroom.

"I'm going to the living room"

"I'll be there in a minute, babe!"

She walked out of the room, still feeling a little nervous. They talked about it… like a million times for Tony's disgust… and he seemed confident, but it was not as easy for her. Neither was to admit she felt scared. Pepper saw the doctor when he walked in the living room. He wore a blue suit, looking very serious. As Tony said he was the best cardiologist and her own research corroborated it.

"Dr. Wu, It's a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to our home" They shook hands. Pepper tried to pull a smile, but she just wanted to talk about all her doubts.

The man bowed at her "Miss Potts, nice to meet you too"

"Tony should be her soon. Please take a sit"

She guided him to the couch not knowing exactly what to say. "Can I offer you a drink?"

"I'm fine. Thank you" The doctor smiled. He opened his brief case and pulled a tablet out of it.

"Thank you for coming"

"It's the least we can do for one of our heroes"

"Did someone talk about a hero?" Tony appeared in the room, looking as good and confident as always. Actually, he was pretty excited about the whole situation.

"Nice to meet you doc" They shook hands "Hope you don't mind the long trip. If there's anything you need…"

"Thank you Mr. Stark. I'm Fine"

"Shall we?" They sat in the couch and Pepper could feel her hands getting cooler as Tony spoke with the doctor. It wasn't like he was having surgery right now but somehow she felt very worried. The arc reactor was a symbol for her. Every time Tony came back from a mission she spent most of the night checking on the light, making sure he was fine. It was the proof that Tony had a heart after all. She felt a little nostalgic thinking about the old days. That thing in his chest represented how he became a better man.

"Honey?" His voice interrupted her thoughts. Tony grabbed her hand "You here?"

"Oh... I'm sorry, I was just thinking about the surgery" She faked a smile.

"You see, doc. This woman in crazy about me so… you better return me in good condition" The doctor smiled while Pepper just blushed, as usual. She tightened her grip on Tony's hand.

"Well, I… unfortunately… can't deny that. I mean, I'm sorry doctor and I don't want to disrespect you or your work but I need to know what happens if something goes wrong?, what are the risks?" She swallowed, almost regretting her words and sounding so needy and weak. What would Forbes said about the most powerful businesswoman in the world now?

"I understand Miss Potts. That's absolutely normal in your situation. The only thing I can say is that there's the same risk to any procedure but Tony is in the best hands. I've gathered the best team of specialists for this case. We intend to use the reactor technology to keep the electromagnet working as we take all the shrapnel out"

The doctor gave them some documents explaining the process, including reconstructive surgery for his sternum and chest. Aside from that, the rest of the procedure seemed pretty simple, they wanted to inject… something in Tony's blood, and intercalate the energy from the reactor to attract the shrapnel and then take it all out.

"You won't touch his heart, right?" Pepper insisted.

"No, we-"

"And what about the hole in his chest? Isn't it dangerous to open that?"

"Honey, take it easy" Pepper looked at the documents and then to the doctor. He looked a little uncomfortable.

"It's completely safe. I assure you we're trying to make this procedure as less invasive as possible, without compromising any vital organ"

"How long will it take?" Tony added.

"We need some scans to determine how much shrapnel you have in your blood, but we're talking about 8… or 10 hours, probably with two surgeries"

"What… what do you mean two surgeries?" Pepper said almost to loud, lifting her gaze from the documents. Tony didn't know if he felt embarrassed or thrilled with her reaction.

"It's better to perform the reconstructive surgery after the main one. It's safer"

Pepper sighed, "I'm sorry I don't want to sound rude. If it's safer… I guess it's ok. What do you think?" She turned to Tony, who was just staring at her, mesmerized and with a big smile on his face.

"I think… the doctor knows what he does" He smiled "Everything looks great and I think I'm ready, but I we need to talk"

"Now you want to talk?" She teased.

"Yeah…whatever" Tony rolled his eyes "We have all the information we need" Tony talked to the doctor again "Guess we'll decide and tell you, doctor"

The doctor nodded with a smile and stood up to shake Tony's hand "The most important thing is to be sure of making this decision Mr. Stark. I can only guarantee that you'll be in the best hands"

* * *

Tony accompanied the doctor to the elevator and then came back to Pepper. She was still on the couch, looking lost in the city view.

"Thought you were going to hit the poor man"

Pepper giggled but didn't answer. She patted the place next to her in the couch, indicating Tony to sit next to her. He kissed her shoulder and hugged her closer.

"You ok, honey?" He said with his chin on Pepper's shoulder.

"Yeah… the surgery doesn't look that terrible"

"Yet, you look like if I was going to die"

"Guess I'm a wreck after all"

"Please, you are the more badass woman I've ever met"

"Of how many?" She teased

Tony cleared his throat "Whoa… talking about you, not me. Anyway I would remember if someone would have beaten the crap out of some orange guy to save me"

"That was very romantic of me" She giggled, leaning her head back on Tony's shoulder.

"And very ladylike" He kissed her neck while Pepper closed her eyes. "You are not a wreck… more like a hot mess, remember?" Tony moved her hair to the side in order to get better access to her neck while his right hand started unbuttoning her shirt. Pepper relaxed with his touch and felt how her body responded immediately. "Want a massage?" His hands were now on her shoulders, pressing on the right places against her skin.

"Just a massage?" She sighed when he bit softly on her right shoulder. Tony spoke against her skin.

"I don't know, what do you want, Miss Potts?" He lowered the strap of her bra and Pepper smiled. Tony's massages were never _just_ massages. She turned to face him he was biting his own lips with anticipation. Pepper smiled, for some reason she couldn't understand that man had chosen her… and it wasn't because the light in his chest but what was next to it. She pulled his t-shirt up and there it was… she stared directly at the arc reactor. She touched it.

"You know… that is the exact look I feared the first time we did it" Tony teased with a smile but it disappeared when Pepper's expression didn't change.

"Why is it so important?" She asked.

"What?.. You said the surgery didn't look that bad"

"Not for something that has never been done… You fixed it, what's the problem?"

"Honey, we've been through this like a million times" Tony sighed, "You're not this kind of person"

"You can't understand… you… you are you… and a goddamn superhero! But then me… how the hell am I supposed to protect _the one thing I can't live without?_ What can I do if something happens?" She avoided his gaze and tried not to cry… the situation was embarrassing enough as it was. Tony was right; she wasn't that kind of person. "I'm sorry I know this is so not like me but everything feels so real now"

"Uhm. No.. It's ok… I understand, I guess… It's nice to have someone who cares you know?... about me… like you do. I had never…" He lifted her face with his hand and tried to smile "I… I don't know what to say in this situations Pep, you gotta help me out here. I can't do this without you but it _is _important. I know you don't care about how it looks but why do I have to live with a bunch of metal inside my body?" He caressed her cheek with his thumb "This is not part of me, I don't want it to be"

"You must be fed up with me" She half smiled

"Why? It's not like you like to talk about things over and over again… Oh wait." Tony teased, now Pepper laughed.

"You are such a pain in the ass" She leaned forward until her forehead was touching his.

"That's better. Can't rock your world if you're all sad" He kissed her softly "So, what do you say about the surgery?" He spoke against her lips.

"If it is important for you, it's for me… I support you" She closed her eyes and rested her forehead again against his, this time closing her eyes "But you'll have to promise that everything is going to be ok"

Tony smiled and grabbed her hand, and then put her palm against his chest, over his heart "This is the real one, the real proof and the only one you need" She smiled again and Tony took his opportunity to pull her over his lap, kissing her passionately. Her nails dug on the back of his neck while Tony's hands worked on her bra.

She had to stand up in order to get rid of the rest of her clothes. Tony helped eagerly. Once they had no clothes left she settled with a leg on each side of his hips. Tony's hands moved upwards until he could set Pepper's hair free from her ponytail. She kissed him again, hard, moving her hand between their bodies, reaching for his shaft. Tony shivered at her touch and broke the kiss.

"That feels fucking good" His head leaned back with his mouth open and his whole body trembling a little. Pepper's mouth went to his jawline, biting and kissing softly while her nails continued carefully scratching Tony's throbbing cock, absolutely ready for her. He tried to return the favor moving his hand from the back of her thigh up to her center. She whimpered when Tony pushed a finger inside inadvertently. His free hand took care of her breasts, with expert fingers on her nipples, almost making her lose control in that moment "You are always so hot for me, baby"

"I need you Tony" She whispered against his ear "forever" Then she bit on his earlobe, knowing how much he liked it. She licked on his skin too.

"Oh my God" His body answered moving his hips up and down, looking for more friction on her hand. "I need you too. Bad" He closed his eyes and then pulled her closer for another heated kiss, his arms around her waist and hers around his neck, while exploring each other mouths. Pepper felt her heart melting. She wasn't weak, but Tony was her weakness, he was able to make her feel so many things at the same time. He put his hands on her hips and moved her body up and down, impaling her, feeling her moaning against his mouth. "Everything is gonna be ok… I swear, Pep… I'll never leave you... I can't"

Tony kissed her again and she stared moving with a slow pace, her whole body trembling with pleasure, trying to forget about the her worries, making sure he was there. "I know... I love you" She put her hands on his shoulders trying to find support.

He opened his eyes. She was blushing, and all driven by desire. That was his favorite image in the whole world. He knew that Pepper needed him as much as he needed her, and not just right now. If she was the one having surgery he would never let that happen without getting directly involved with the process. He would never left her in the hands of others, even when he failed to protect her more than once. That still hurt badly. They both needed peace, and they would find it together. When she opened her eyes he felt his heart jump. No one, ever, looked at him with such… love and adoration, just pure love from the kindest soul he had ever met. She smiled. He knew he was the luckiest bastard on this world.

Pepper moved faster and harder on him, he accepted her pace and moved his hips up with her, making her moan louder with every, deeper, thrust.

"Oh, Tony!" She shivered, feeling closer "This feels so good" She almost yelled when he pushed harder. "Tony!...oh god!"

"So fuc-" She kissed him sharply, almost out of breath.

They both moved faster, then slower and then faster again until she screamed his name against his neck, collapsing over him. He followed her soon after, holding her sweaty body with all his strength while she received his hot fluids in her body, contracting her walls around his cock, making their pleasure even more intense. They both breathed heavily without pronouncing a single word, until he finally moved and kissed the top of her head.

"You… are… amazing"

Pepper smiled, kissing his shoulder as a response.

"Sir, you have a new message from Director Fury" They almost jumped out of the couch when Jarvis spoke.

"What the… Jarvis! What have I told you?"

"Excuse me sir, according to my information regarding human sexual behaviors, everything indicated that you and Miss Potts had finished, which doesn't go against your previous orders" The AI replied and Pepper laughed while moving off Tony's lap.

"Whatever" Tony rolled his eyes "It's Saturday, consulting hours are over… Don't want to hear anything about him or Shield until Monday... at minimum"

"As you wish, sir"

"Uhm.. Where were we?... He turned to Pepper; she was wearing her underwear again. "Excuse me, what are you doing?"

"What do you think, honey?"

"Jarvis!... one more thing. Tell Bruce that I'm not going to the lab for the rest of the day" He said without moving his gaze from her. She smiled.

"Yes, sir"


	30. Chapter 30: The news, Part 1

**A/N: I know, I know... Shortest chapter ever and it took me like a million years! I'm doing my best since I don't have time, but I'll post the second part tonight :) I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for all your reviews, we are close to the end with this one!**

* * *

**Chapter 30: The news, Part 1**

Tony woke up when he felt movement next to him. The room was still a little dark. He frowned.

"Oh, I'm so sorry honey. I didn't want to wake you" She leaned back on the mattress and kissed him briefly.

"What the…" Tony spoke huskily "Are you going to run away or what?" He mocked while he was stretching his body. "Of course, this was your plan all along… leaving me all tired so I couldn't go after you"

Pepper laughed "You are in very bad shape for a super hero. Sorry honey, I have a lot to do, we already lost the whole weekend and…"

Tony opened his mouth widely, pretending to be offended "Wow… thank you for letting me know that I'm just a waste of your precious time, Mrs. CEO of a big company"

"Your company. And I need to get things done if we want to go to China as soon as I know you want" She raised an eyebrow.

"Fair point. Still here? Go work, you lazy woman"

Pepper laughed and leaned to kiss him softly. Tony closed his eyes.

"Lunch together?" She asked against his lips.

"Whatever you want. We own a restaurant in Time Square"

Pepper laughed again "Here. Surprise me" She kissed him again, this time deeper, and then walked out of the bed.

"You got it babe. It'll be the best lunch ever"

"Great, sounds like a date" She said when she entered to the bathroom.

"Good morning, sir. It's Monday" Jarvis said.

"Well… yeah, so what?"

"You have 7 messages from-"

"Eh, eh eh! Shh, shh. No Shield please. Let me enjoy my morning"

"But you said"

"Just ignore them" Tony sighed, "Where's Bruce?"

"Dr. Banner is in his apartment"

"Wake me when he goes to the lab, ok?"

"Yes sir"

* * *

"Good morning sunshine!" Tony entered to the laboratory with a big smile on his face.

"That's a big smile you got there. Since you disappeared the whole weekend I don't even need to ask"

"I'm a happy man" Tony started working with one of the glass monitors.

"How did things go with Dr. Wu?"

Tony stopped tapping on the monitor "Well, Pepper has her doubts. But we both think that the doctor is the man for the job. The surgery has its risk like any normal surgery"

"Of course. And how do you feel about it?"

Tony pouted "Great. I want to do it" He tapped on the arc reactor "This is part of a person that it's not me. I want a life with Pepper, and I don't want something threatening to kill me inside my body"

Bruce nodded and stopped tapping on his own monitor too "So, when do you leave?"

"I don't know. Pepper's working on that. I guess we'll have to deal with a lot of crap before we can go"

"Starting with Shield"

Tony rolled his eyes "What now? Did they call you?"

"Yes. And you, several times. Have you seen the news?"

"Duh… of course not. I was…. Busy"

"You should" Tony frowned and Bruce continued "Things are getting pretty messy… and there was an… explosion"

Tony was ready to ask the question he feared, but then he was interrupted by Jarvis.

"Sir, Miss Potts wants to see you right now. She's in her office with Agent Hill from Shield."


	31. Chapter 31: The News, Part 2

A/N: Here's the second part! we're very close the the surgery and with that.. close to the end of this story. I have some ideas, I'll try to get something done before I start posting because I don't like to leave you waiting haha. Thanks for every opinion, that really makes my day :)

PS: I'm sorry if there are mistakes in this one, It's 3am and I need to wake up in 2 hours... that's right, that's my life... but I love my job anyway

**VERY IMPORTANT PS (AND MAYBE EVEN A SPOILER): I just saw the pilot of Agents of Shield... LOVED IT! haha. that made me change some things on this chapter, If you see the episode I think that you'll see how some things fit, I loved the idea of putting this things happening at the same time and seeing what Tony was doing and how thw whole story works... tell me what do you think about it :) Of courser I'm not going to write about the agents but this helps me to send back Tony to California before China... so, enjoy and let's read!**

* * *

**Chapter 21: The News, Part 2**

He ran as fast as he could, but the only words on his mind were _Shield-Explosion-Pepper. _And even with extremis destroyed and Pepper cured Fury could still be interested in what happened that night and the only way they could get a finger on Pepper was over his dead body.

"I see that Fury sent the first of the horsemen of the apocalypse. He must be really desperate" Tony appeared in Pepper's office where the two women were waiting for him.

"Tony, please. You should know why Agent Hill is here"

"Oh I know why she is here. What I don't know is why is Shield bothering you?" He talked to Pepper but then directed his attention to the agent "All your business… With _me. _You leave her out of your super secret circus" He stopped when he was next to Pepper, staring to the agent on the opposite side of the desk.

Maria sighed, "What are you even talking about? The only reason why I'm here is because you ignore our messages and as hard as we try to clean up every mess you cause, we need something on your part too"

"I don't… wait, what?"

"Tony, senator Stern is leading another cause against you" Pepper added.

"And forcing an investigation on the cause of Aldrich Killian's death" Hill threw a folder on the desk. Tony took it and started reading the files "Can we talk now?"

"I'm listening" Maria looked at Pepper, like waiting for her to leave the room, Tony continued, "She's not going anywhere" Tony didn't even lift his gaze from the documents, he started walking around.

The agent continued, "Fine. You know that we are trying to maintain the Mandarin charade with the public, but people are looking for answers and there was a new explosion in California this Saturday. Extremis"

Tony swallowed. He looked at Pepper and she was clearly uncomfortable "Honey, would you…?"

"Yeah. It's ok" She faked a smile and squeezed Tony's hand before leaving. Tony sat on Pepper's place, looking worried.

"How do you… Who's working on this?"

"Ehm… a special team's on that" She changed the subject "Look, the point is… this isn't helping. People have questions, Stern is after you, and every time you get out of this nest you put a show on the street. People count on you Stark, and you left you house in ruins and a trail of chaos in Tennessee… Miami. The word's out"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Be what you are supposed to be. Make an appearance. We don't need people linking this explosion with the The Mandarin attacks, and then finding out that Iron Man didn't show up because he has no suits left"

"That's just a momentary sit-"

"It doesn't matter" The agent interrupted him "You're letting people speculate, and disappeared after being nearly killed"

"Didn't know Shield was a super secret PR agency"

"This is serious Stark"

"Ok, then what about the explosion?"

"We have… a possible subject" She gave Tony a little metallic stick. He put It on the desk and it started projecting images of some sort of robotic centipede. "Do you know what that is?"

"No idea. Orange is not my favorite color though… Is this…?"

"Super soldier serum, gamma radiation and extremis. The ultimate superhero cocktail. And extremely unstable"

"And why are you telling me all this? Sorry, I don't buy it" He gestured between them with his hand "You just don't go revealing secrets that easy. You need something"

"Well, you are not wrong"

Tony sighed "On my conditions"

* * *

Tony found Pepper on their bedroom, dealing with some phone call while on the news he could read: _"Are superheroes allowed to kill?" _

"Honey!" Pepper's voice interrupted his thoughts. How long was he staring at the TV?

"Ehm… you done? We have a date"

"Are you ok?" She caressed his cheek

"Now I am" He smiled "Things will get better… I mean, we've seen worse"

"Far worse. But Stern can be a big pain in the ass"

"And Shield" He added and Pepper frowned

"What did Hill said?" Pepper asked, but what she really wanted to know was what had happened with extremis.

"Someone's out there experimenting with super powers. They needed help with the cure"

"You had that? I thought… wait, and why did they know that you had that?"

Tony sighed "Fury's everything but an idiot. He suspects something… and I agreed to help if they forget about it"

"Well… I'm fine now" She smiled and now caressed his arms, trying to comfort him.

"Yep, but I don't want them asking questions. It's ok… they can deal with that while I take care of the rest"

"Wow… you? Taking care? I need to hear that again"

"Seriously? Making jokes now Potts?"

"Among my many obligations the most important one is to make you happy, Mr. Stark"

He finally smiled "You are so perfect" He moved his arms around her waist "And good at your job"

"I know. Let's make lunch. I'm starving" She gave him a peck "You sure you are ok?"

"I'll be better when I solve that thing" He pointed at the TV. They were still talking about superheroes as long as Pepper could read.

"_We_" She corrected him "We solve that thing"

Tony smiled "Then pack your bags baby. We need to go back to California for a couple of days"

"Press conference?" She rose and eyebrow at him. For some strange reason she kind of missed his crazy appearances in front of the press.

"Press conference" He confirmed.

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"Oh, no, no… lunch date, remember?" He smiled and grabbed her hand, dragging her out of their bedroom.


	32. Chapter 32: The press conference

**A/N: Hello! We're back with another chapter. Very close to the end. I loved this one so I hope you love it too. Remember to feed the author, make any suggestions or comments I'm grateful for everything you have to say about the story. Enjoy :)**

**Chapter 32: The press conference**

Tony was getting ready. He hated to wear suits, unless it was for a night out with Pepper. He knew how much she loved to see him in a suit… not one made of metal, of course.

"Honey, they are waiting for us"

Tony sighed. Pepper, as always, was ready before he was. His jet was ready to take them back to California.

"You know-"

"Yeah I know that it's your plane" She rolled her eyes and interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. She smiled and mover her hands to fix his tie "You look very handsome this morning, Mr. Stark"

"Oh man... a complement this early? This is gonna be a good day"

"That I wish" She kissed him quickly "You ready?"

"If you are by my side" He smiled.

* * *

Everything felt oddly familiar. They were getting ready in Pepper's office in Stark Industries. The press was ready and waiting for Tony while the whole PR department was going crazy with all the buzz and media wanting to get answers from the great Tony Stark. Pepper was dealing with some of that too, just until she heard something about their first press conference together.

"Of course I meant it… literally. Come on Pep, Are you going to let me die alone in there?. I'm dying"

Pepper sighed, "You know that I don't like this things"

"But you like me, right?. I need you with me. I… uh… it's so hot in here" He loosened his tie "Oh god. Think it's a panic attack" Tony moved his hands excessively, like if he needed air. Pepper just narrowed her gaze. "Your fault" He made a fake expression of pain.

"Oh please, save it"

Tony was suddenly fine "This is not a healthy relationship. You can't even do the simplest thi-"

"How dare you" Pepper pulled his tie sharply.

Tony lifted his hands "Ok sorry. That's not exactly what I… uhm… I'll just go" Then he tried his last resort: puppy eyes and a sad smile.

"I hate you" She exhaled and rolled her eyes.

"That's my girl!" His grin grew wider and then he kissed her deeply. Pepper just melted against his lips. The situation was familiar… but better. She could get used to stand next to him in front of the press. Part of her hated the way that people spoke to Tony and wanted to support him. "You do more than you should… for me you know"

"Believe me, I know" She spoke when Tony let her take a breath.

"This is just… I feel…" She put her index finger on his lips and didn't let him finish.

"Let's go" She smiled.

Tony grabbed Pepper's arm and they walked together to the pressroom. The noise faded and was replaced by soft murmurs. Tony asked for a chair for Pepper. He stood in front of the press. He seemed to be very self-confidant but the truth was that he felt a little nervous and praying not to panic at the pressure and the crowd… all the noise, the eyes on him. His thoughts stopped when Pepper grabbed his hand.

"Fine people. Nice to see you again. I'm alive, I'm happy and feeling great so, please stick to important questions. Nothing personal"

The firs hand was raised. A young guy in the middle of the crowd.

"How can you say that if it's your questionable… mental state the one raising questions about your capability of being Iron Man?

"My capability of being Iron Man is not for you or anyone to question" He felt Pepper tightening her grip on his hand "The truth is… I'm not afraid. I said it before and I say it now. I'm fine… I was tired, I was injured but that's it. There's nothing different and and I'm still Iron Man"

"Then why do we have witnesses to prove you had some kind of panic attack in a bar in Malibu, and outside the Stark Tower… even many people saw you in Tennessee" The man continued.

"I already explained that, and whatever I was doing… it was for a reason. I have nothing to hide-"

Then a woman interrupted Tony "How about your suits? That event in Tennessee… you didn't have it, and almost destroyed a town. This week for example… there was an explosion in California, where were you?"

"Ehm… in New York. Don't you see the news?" The crowed giggled and Tony continued, "I know when I have to do my thing… and I'm working on very important projects both for Iron Man and Stark Industries"

Somebody else asked, "Yes, but _where_ is Iron Man? And where was he when The Mandarin attacked your house? Where's The Mandarin now? People need answers"

"I know that I could have done a better job. But the only thing that I regret is that I put the most important person for me in danger. Anyway…I don't have to ask _you _to forgive me for that. Just her" Tony looked at Pepper and she smiled" But then again… Evil is not my fault. I fight evil, I fight for the people, and I risked… everything to prevent more damage. That's what I do. That's what The Avengers do, and I know that some people can't deal with that. The war business if very profitable, I know that, but I also know that we can change and find new ways to be better. I know So… " Tony looked very serious. He decided to finish his speech speaking directly to the cameras "For those out there doubting about heroes. Yes, we don't have the right to decide who lives or dies, but we have the obligation to protect people, the same people who believes in us and we answer to that same people, not a man with a desk and power and doing nothing to make this world a better place. So… I don't care about any accusation because I know what I have to do. For all the bad guys out there. Same warning. Even if heroes exist or not, there'll always be evil. They day we change that is the day that The Avengers will stop"

The journalists kept quiet. Some of them nodding and some of them murmuring and taking notes. After a few seconds a women raised her hand.

"But we didn't face such a dangerous evil before super heroes existed"

Tony frowned. Ready to answer and finish. There were a million things going through his mind. He needed to visit Happy, call Rhodey… He had to speak with Fury and see what had happened with that explosion Hill mentioned. He wanted to go somewhere else with Pepper and as far as he could from the press, he felt stronger just with her sitting next to him. He felt inspired to talk like he did. He had always wanted her to be proud. But in that moment… with that question… he focused in the events of the last few years, and every major threat they had faced. Even Killian… he sais that it was always him. He didn't give much thought to that bastard. He didn't want to remember him. But he had to, and he had to start with his past.

He managed to end the press conference as confident as he started it. For the first time he didn't cause a mess. He could see it in Pepper's nod-mad-after-a-press-conference-face. Yes, he did good; but he had to think about many things for his own peace. Maybe he had to take seriously those sessions with Bruce.

"Why are you so quiet?" Pepper asked when they were ready to leave Stark Industries and go to the hospital to visit Happy.

"Me? Nope. I was just thinking"

"Yeah. And that's the weird part. What's wrong?"

"Nothing" Tony sighed and managed to pull a sincere smile "I just hate press conferences"

"Come on. You get to talk about yourself. Is there anything you love to do more than that?" She teased; trying to get his snarky self back. She knew she had succeeded when she saw a little smirk forming in his face.

"Well… I love to _do_ many things. My absolute favorite is in this room right now" And he was back.

Pepper giggled and moved closer to him, placing her hand on his chest "Maybe you deserve a reward for being such a good boy with the press" She said in a very soft and sexy voice. Tony shivered and blinked. Pepper loved to see him speechless. She kissed him before Tony could find any words. The contact was a soft as her voice, leaving him wanting more.

"You are such a tease" Tony smiled

"The car is waiting for us"

"Right… you know Pep, since _you_ have a meet-"

"We"

"-ting tomorrow and we have to stay here… I want to go somewhere else. We can visit happy tomorrow"

"Is this another of your tricks to get laid and not visit your injured friend? Because then-"

Tony interrupted her "Oh, no, no… I swear. This is important. I just want to go somewhere else"

* * *

Once their home, there was nothing left from Tony's mansion. There was still just a big pile of destruction, almost the same image that Pepper remembered but Tony never saw it, everything was mostly a blur for him. He only remembered fear, the need to get Pepper out of the house and his workshop and suits blowing up in front of his eyes. Now everything was so dark and quiet. Tony had to leave the lights of his car on.

"Are you ok?" She kissed his shoulder.

"Yep" He didn't move his gaze from the ruins. He got out of the car. Pepper followed him. "This is such a mess"

"We have a big team working"

"Today was a good day after all" He changed the subject. Pepper knew him well enough to know that every time he changed the subject like that he felt weak and vulnerable.

"Surprisingly" She smiled "Even Shield is pleased"

"Please, even _you_ are pleased" Tony mocked.

"Hey! I'm not hard to please" Pepper regretted her choice of words when Tony smirked "Ok, I walked right into that one, didn't I?. Let's just say that you did great. I'm proud. I always knew you were able to be the man that you are now"

"And always loved me?" Tony teased

"Maybe" She said when he hugged her.

"Can you get more people to work on this?"

"Of course honey" She said and caressed his arm.

"I want to see if there's something to recover"

"We can do that after China"

"Right… China. You sure about that?… China, I mean…"

"Do you want me to change my mind?"

"Oh no, no… please, not this conversation again" Tony sighed and Pepper giggled and pulled away from his embrace.

"After tomorrow's meeting-"

"Oh, the one you have"

"-The one _we_ have… we can organize our schedule. There are a lot of things to do"

"Great" Tony smiled "Best girlfriend ever"

"Best boyfriend ever too"

"Agreed. Now let's talk about a reward you owe me" Tony kissed her and then grabbed her hand to walk back to the car. He looked at the ocean one last time when he held Pepper's door open. They were close to have a normal life. But even with a new house they would have the same beautiful view, and even with a normal life they didn't need to forget about the not so normal parts.

* * *

**Don't forget to review :) I think there are 4 chapters left.**


	33. Chapter 33: The therapist

**A/N: Hello again! Veeeery close to the end. I'm trying to update faster for this final chapters. As always, I hope to read all your reviews :)**

* * *

**Chapter 33: The therapist**

A few days had passed since Tony and Pepper came back from California but Bruce had barely seen them. Tony didn't like the lab work as much as his heavy machinery and robots and he deduced that he was probably working on a new suit. That's why it was so weird to find Tony in the lab that early… and with tow guys moving a chaise in the middle of the lab.

"What the…"

"Thanks a lot guys" Tony gave one of them what Bruce thought was an excessive amount of money and then showed them the exit. "Good morning sunshine. You missed me?" Tony asked with a smile. He was eating an apple; Bruce just frowned at the whole image. "Pepper's busy and don't have time for breakfast so… Oh, this?" Tony noticed that Bruce didn't care about fruit. He was staring at the new furniture in the room.

"Yeah that… what is that?"

"I told you we needed to set the mood"

"Do you want to do this again?" Bruce asked.

"Of course my friend" Tony tried to find some words but everything he did was gestures with his face "Look… I… need a friend right now. The voice of reason. I'm conflicted"

"Conflicted? You?"

"Yeah. Let's take a sit doc" Tony pointed at the chair next to the chaise.

"I'm not a…" Bruce sighed "Fine… let's do this" He sat while Tony leaned back on the chaise. "Why are you con-"

"Do you think that everything that had happened is my fault?" Tony closed his eyes and interrupted his friend. "I mean… it's not like I brought the aliens here but… I don't know, what about The Avengers? This kind of… weird stuff didn't happen before we existed and I… just-"

"Tony"

"I mean… Obadiah went crazy because _I_ created the suit… and Hammer… I don't even know if he's still in jail. He threatened Pepper, you know? Pretty creepy stuff-"

"Tony, please, calm down for a moment. Can you?" Tony stopped and opened his eyes again. Bruce continued, "I understand. We're in the same team, remember? And you have to think… all that weird stuff might have happened anyway and without anyone to stop it"

"Yeah, I guess but there are a lot of details that I just can't… I keep thinking and running my whole life in my mind and they keep appearing. Mistakes I have made"

"We all make mistakes Tony. You have done a lot of good too. Not many people can say that"

"I know but now I have someone to protect. I don't want to put Pepper through hell every time"

"She's not the kind of woman to flinch just because some alien army wants to invade us" Bruce added making Tony smile.

"No, she's not"

"You are lucky. And yes, you have to protect her I would do the same in your position. But she'll never leave you, no matter how bad things get"

"Still. She doesn't deserve to be in pain. Am I selfish? I know I can't let her go I… agh… now with the surgery… She's playing cool but I know she's scared and I feel awful man. She deserves better than that. See? Conflicted" Tony sighed.

"Tony, that's how life works. Sometimes you'll face bad things. I bet Pepper doesn't regret any single second she has spent with you"

"Yes she does. When she had to deal with the girls that I… " Bruce frowned "Ok. Doesn't matter. The point is. You know what the point is"

"And as I said before. That's part of the package. And don't think that she deserves better because, and let's forget that I'll say this, you are a good man, and maybe the best I've ever known. She'll be just fine, Tony. She's not miserable with you, she's happy"

"Uhm… you're a very good therapist for a physicist"

"I'm not a… ok… Conflict avoided. Let's work" Bruce stood up

"Thanks pal. In the next session we can discuss the origin of all those inner demons that I-"

"Wait what next session?"

* * *

Pepper was working when Tony appeared in her office. He leaned against the doorframe in total silence, just staring at her.

"You want something" She said without moving her gaze from her laptop.

"Nothing. Already got everything I want"

"Wow" Pepper smiled and Tony walked in the room.

"You know, I was thinking-"

"And there it is"

"-and I know you'll say that we can't jut go away but I think…" He sat in front of her " we deserve a little time away… just the two of us" Pepper stopped tapping in her laptop and finally looked at him. "uhm… well… since I'll need a couple of weeks to recover and valentine's day is so close… we could stay a little longer in China" Tony was organizing his arguments, ready to go against her refusal when Pepper spoke.

"I think that sounds good"

"Wow… really? That easy?"

"I don't want to come back until I'm sure you're completely fine. And we could use some time for us"

"Sounds better when you say it" Tony smiled "You ok, right?"

"For the millionth time, yes honey" Her gaze went back to the laptop. Tony grabbed her hand. He just wanted that to be over as soon as possible. "You better don't give me any reasons to worry" She teased, trying to lighten the mood.

"I could never do such thing" He smiled and then stood up "In fact, I'll keep working. I want to leave something good for the board so they wont bother us while we are in our honeymoon"

"Are you working on something new?"

"Well… not yet, but I'll figure something out… like a flying car or something" He smiled.

"Just don't blow out the building"

Tony made a doubtful gesture "Meh… I can't promise that…love you!" Then he walked to the door. He could hear Pepper saying the same while he was getting out of her office. He continued and took his phone out of his pocket.

"Hellop" James responded on the phone.

"My favorite sidekick!"

"Don't call me that Anthony, I'm not your sidekick"

"Don't speak like that to the man responsible for your suit. By the way… you're the war machine again. I have enough with one patriotic hero and I'm all out of blue paint"

Rhodes giggled, "I don't think that the white house will be ok whit that man"

"You already admitted it. War machine is waaaay cooler than Iron Patriot. We'll see what to do. Anyway that's not why I'm calling" Tony walked in the living room and sat in the couch.

"Let me guess. You want something from the same friend you didn't even bother to visit while you were in Malibu"

"Come on Rhodes, don't be such a pussy about that. You'll be the godfather of my children"

"Whoa!... children? That's some news. See why do you have to take a beer with your man when you're here?"

"I'm in negotiations"

"Still…wow… look at you…all grown up. I'm happy to hear that things are going that good I mean… you definitely fell head over heels if you're talking about kids"

"Ever had any doubts?"

"I just doubted that Pepper could stand you. She's a saint"

"Ha-ha, very funny. Let's talk business"

"Right. What do you want?"

"I need you to come to Chine with us. At least a couple of days. I can't be by Pepper's side and you're the only one I would ask this. I mean, she's a badass… but I don't want her to be alone on this. Can you do it?"

"Dude, you sound like if the surgery was going to go wrong. What are the risks?"

"I'm gonna be fine, but we never know. I mean, I'm not afraid but she is. Any surgery has its risks and it's not easy for her. I need you to support her, please man."

"Of course man, you don't even need to ask. I like Pepper better than you"

"Love you too" Tony giggled, "You don't have to worry about anything, I'll send the jet. I'll have to warn you though… Our flight attendants are guys now. Pepper insisted"

Rhodes laughed, "Fine. I'm ok with that. Just send me the itinerary and I'll be there"

"Thanks, really"

"Anytime"

When Tony hung up he noticed that Pepper was in the living room, just behind him.

"Very thoughtful" She spoke.

"Uhm…" He avoided her gaze "You ok with that?"

"Yes. Thank you" She walked closer and hugged him from behind "I love you"

Tony smiled "How about lunch in the city?"

"I have a lot of work"

"I know. It's wrong… forbidden" Tony smirked.

Pepper laughed "It's just lunch" Tony moved his hands up to grab her and pulled her down, being very careful not to hurt her, he made her flip over the couch and land on his lap. "Oh my God Tony!" Pepper laughed, "What are you doing?"

He didn't answer. He pressed his lips against hers, hard. Pepper opened her mouth and let his tongue in. Still trapped in his strong arms and relaxing after a morning full of work. When he stopped she was a little confused and Tony was just smiling.

"I'm being romantic" He finally answered.

"By killing me?" She teased and Tony laughed. He was lost in her blue eyes, full of joy and love, telling him that he was more than enough.

"So, lunch? Romantic lunch?"

Pepper smiled "Well… we own a restaurant in Time Square"


	34. Chapter 34: The surgery Part 1

**A/N: Ok, I'm so sorry… i've been through hell haha. I had to go out of the city and forgot to pay the Internet and then had to deal with the company and I just don't have the time for that *sighs* Anywayyy! I didn't forget about my lovely readers. We are so close to the end! I'm not seeing many reviews so you don't forget about me! haha… This one has some explicit scenes so…+18, you have been warned :)**

**Enjoy the chapter! I'm sorry if there are a lot of mistakes but I wrote this part of it in the iPad and it hate that thing. I won't promise to publish the next chapter faster because I'll attract bad yu yu again hahaha. Enjoy and leave your feedback ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 34: The surgery part 1**

As much as Pepper loved Tony, it was always a challenge to be trapped with him in confined places and a 14 hours flight was not the exception. Tony's hyperactive mind needed to be busy with his toys, making things explode. She was busy with her last emails for the day ad Tony was pretending to watch a movie, but he was just tapping on the arm of the chair and moving in his seat.

"This would be way faster with the suit, you know" He finally talked

"And where would I travel?" Pepper teased without lifting her gaze from the computer.

"Great question. Ever thought about having your own suit?"

"What? Oh my God Tony, No" She was suddenly alert and finally stopped with her laptop to look at Tony.

"Just an idea"

"A bad one. With one business executive being a super hero the company has more than enough"

"Oh no, no. Nobody said super hero. Just a suit for you, if something happens…"

"Still. There's no way I'm putting on one of those things"

"You already did it, Miss Potts. And let me tell you that you look stunning in red and gold"

"Then buy me a dress"

"Seriously, it was awesome" Tony continued and ignored her " You know… _you_, with the suit"

Pepper smiled "Honey, please, stop your mind right there"

"I'll just draw some sketches. If you like it we can –"

"We can nothing. "

"-Decide. It's gonna be so cool"

Pepper rolled her eyes "I won't even keep discussing this so, if I may…" She was about to start typing again but Tony spoke again.

"Come on baby. Just trying to make conversation here. Stop with that thing. All I hear if that…agh… clicking, tapping…. That's is _so_ annoying"

"Oh, now I'm annoying?" Pepper narrowed her eyes.

"Nope… The work stuff" Tony reached to grab the laptop from her "That's enough for you lady"

Pepper sighed in frustration "Weren't you watching a movie?"

"Yeah but I'm bored. I want to do something else"

"Sorry honey, but we are in a plane, there are not many things to do here"

"Believe me gorgeous. I have a mind full of ideas" Tony's suggestive smirk made Pepper blush a little.

"You seriously don't want to…"

"Don't you?"

"Eh… no. Tony I was busy and I"

"Wanna join the high mile club?"

Pepper avoided Tony's gaze "Give me my laptop back"

"Say yes"

"I need it"

"Sorry. Can't hear you unless it's the magic word"

"I'm not going to say yes" She looked at him again, trying to be as serious as she could.

* * *

The next thing Pepper knew was that they were kissing in the small bedroom of the Jet and they were already half naked. Tony's touch was magic on her body. He kissed her again and she let him take control of her mouth until they were out of breath.

"Why are you so tense?" Tony said while his hands were moving up and down her back.

Pepper opened her eyes and managed to catch her breath, licking her own lips before answering. "I'm not…"

"Yes you are" He interrupted her "And I know just what you need" He kissed her softly and then continued to her neck. Pepper looked for support in his shoulders and moaned softly when she felt his hot breath against her sensate skin "Why don't you get out of those uncomfortable clothes, honey?" He started working on the buttons of her shirt but then she pulled away.

"I could use a massage" She smiled and sat on the bed while Tony contemplated her. "I may be a little nervous" She continued with the buttons until her shirt was on the floor. Tony got rid of his own shirt and shoes before joining her. He knelt on the mattress behind her, gaining perfect access to start his massage.

His hands applied the right pressure on her shoulders. Pepper closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Tony spoke again "I'm really sorry Pep. I promise this will be over soon. Then we'll be relaxing and you know… not getting out of the bedroom in days. No work, no super-stuff" Pepper smiled. Tony was confident and that made her feel better.

"Oh man, now I really want to skip the surgery" His hands moved up to undo her ponytail, letting her hair loose "Better" He massaged her scalp softly, feeling how she relaxed with her touch. Tony took his opportunity to unclasp her bra without her noticing it until his hands were back on her shoulders. "Hey, you are not getting sleepy, are you?" Tony asked feeling a little anxious.

Pepper opened her eyes and giggled "I was just picturing us not getting out of the bedroom in days" She teased, leaving Tony speechless. She turned and pushed him to the mattress.

"Guess you are feeling better now" He recovered his cool and pulled her for a kiss with his hands on her waist. The kiss was intense, making them forget about the surgery, the company and everything else. Tony's hands managed to find the zipper with clumsy fingers. She stopped the kiss and pulled away, sitting on his lap and smiling at him.

"Enjoy the moment, Mr. Stark" Pepper licked her own lips while Tony just stared at her, getting out of the bed. When she started to undress in front of him Tony rushed to get rid of the rest of his clothes. She smiled with his reaction.

"I'm sorry, Miss Potts, but we have a few hours left in this plane and I intend to enjoy every minute"

Pepper blushed a little with his statement. His voice almost sounded like a grunt.

"Love it when you blush like that. Get in here. Leave the panties," He said when he was finally naked, making clear how turned on he was. Pepper shuddered a little with his order. She had a thing for the dominant Tony, with his dark gaze burning through her skin.

She obeyed and threw herself to his arms again, with one leg to each side of him and starting another heated kiss. Tony placed one hand on her left leg and the other on her back, trying to get her as close to him as he could, feeling her skin against his.

"This is going to be really good" He said when she bit his lip softly.

"I love you Tony" She muttered before kissing him again. Her hands moved between their bodies, first reaching the shape of the arc reactor. She remembered the first time she saw it, Tony trusted her with the thing that kept him alive and made her do something stupid and disgusting but she knew that he was not ashamed in front of her and that piece of metal inside of his body was special, was the prove that he was alive after every mission, the light that kept her calm every night.

"I can hear you thinking" He spoke and made Pepper open her eyes again. He rolled to be on top and then continued. "How could I ever not come back to you?... there you go. Hell of a reason"

Pepper smiled and pulled him again for another kiss. She wrapped her legs around his waist and moaned in his mouth at the friction. That sound made Tony close his eyes. The room was filled by the sound of heavy breathing and their mouths exploring each other's bodies. His mouth focused on her breasts and by that time her brain stopped thinking about surgeries, just him, the man she loved and the immense pleasure he made her feel.

"Hope this are not your favorite" Tony spoke hoarsely before grabbing her panties.

"What?" She muttered almost out of breath but couldn't react before Tony ripped the fabric and throw it away. She moaned his name and arched her back when Tony introduced a finger inside of her. He was more than satisfied with her reaction; he loved to see her lost in her own pleasure, aching for him. He placed himself between her legs and kissed her again.

Her nails dug into his shoulder when she finally felt him inside. With one deep thrust Tony made her scream his name against his lips. Then he continued. "Open your eyes" He muttered softly next to her ear. Her vision was a little blurry but disarmingly handsome and staring at her like she was the most precious and valuable thing he had, over all his millions, buildings or suits.

He tried to set a slow pace, but after a few minutes they both needed more. His hips moved faster while he buried his face on her neck. Their sweaty bodies moved in perfect synchrony until he felt her starting to contract around him. Her body tensed again, but this time preparing to reach a mind-blowing climax. She smiled and cried his name while letting her body take control of her. Tony followed her shortly after. He felt how her nails scratched his back while he growled against her neck. He continued moving as long as he could.

Once again, the room filled with heavy breathing.

"Oh gosh…" Tony muttered a few minutes after, when he caught his breath. He tried to roll to set her free of his weight but Pepper didn't let him, hugging him tighter.

"No" she muttered carelessly, "Hug me"

Tony lifted his head from her neck with a big smile on his face. "That was the cutest thing. Say it again"

"What? I'm not ashamed of that. I like it when you hug me like this" She smiled too.

"Love you so much, cuddles" He kissed her quickly. "You know, good decisions are not my strongest suit, pun intended, but this… us… best thing I've ever done, I don't want anything else for the rest of my life. And I really don't want to crush your beautiful bones here"

Pepper laughed, "Look how's being cute now" She said while Tony rolled to be on his side. She moved too to face him. "I have to say that I'm feeling better now" Tony smirked and she continued before he could tease her "And please don't say anything distasteful"

"Oh I intend to _do_ all those distasteful things in the next few hours" Pepper giggled "But first things first" He opened his arms and Pepper moved closer so he could hug her. She sighed and relaxed with his arms around her. It was nice to have someone to be strong for her sometimes now.

* * *

The car was waiting for them in the hangar when they arrived to Beijing. Tony's confidence made her feel better. Now it was her turn to be the strong one. They walked out of the plane smiling and holding hands. The driver opened the door for them and a security team was ready in a SUV.

"Ever been to China?" Tony asked still with a dumb smile on his face.

"Yes, with you"

"Oh… well. Of course I remember that time when… in 2000…something"

Pepper giggled, "Have you talked to James?" The car started moving.

Tony cleared his throat "Thanks for changing the subject baby, and yes… he'll be here in a couple of days" He kissed her hand. "You ok?"

"Yes" She smiled "A little tired" she kissed him with a suggestive smirk.

"Uhm.." Tony swallowed "Eh… what are we doing for the rest of the day?"

"We have to see Doctor Wu"

"Or maybe we could…"

"Hey!" She placed a finger on his lips to stop him "Don't argue"

"Next time don't go asking for hugs" They both laughed and the driver continued. They were going to stop by their apartment before going to the clinic.


End file.
